How is Psoriatic Arthritis Connected with Psoriasis?

Most of us know that Psoriasis is a type of skin disease that cause itchy, scaly rashes, etc. in the affected person’s skin and also cause the crumbling nails in them. However, one more condition associated with psoriasis which many people are unaware of is psoriatic arthritis. Yes! About 30% of people affected by psoriasis also grow a form of disease where they may meet with joint pain, stiffness and swelling. This is known as psoriatic arthritis. Again, it is not the fact that everyone suffering from psoriasis would grow psoriatic arthritis. So, here in this article we will take a look on how exactly psoriatic arthritis is connected with psoriasis and also know about the things that make the two conditions different from each other.

How is Psoriatic Arthritis Connected with Psoriasis?

In order to know about the fact how are these two conditions of Psoriatic arthritis and Psoriasis connected, we must take a look on the facts that make them similar and connected along with the facts that make them different. Here below we will talk about the same.

What Makes Psoriatic Arthritis and Psoriasis Similar to One Another?

Well! It is true that about 30% of people who are affected by psoriasis also end up suffering from psoriatic arthritis. Especially people who have severe psoriasis are more likely to grow psoriatic arthritis. In most of the times, psoriasis or skin problems grow first and later grow the psoriatic arthritis or inflammation of the joints. However, in some cases the psoriatic arthritis grows first in the patient and he or she does not meet with any skin problems of psoriasis for months and years. It is not yet clear about the genes which are responsible for these two inflammatory conditions of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis.

What Makes Psoriatic Arthritis and Psoriasis Similar to One Another?

Though not in every case; yet there are some cases where one may get psoriatic arthritis if he or she has psoriasis. Now, what makes these two conditions look connected to each other? Let us look at some facts that make psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis similar to one another.

  • Psoriatic arthritis and Psoriasis, both are caused due to inflammation.
  • Psoriatic arthritis is known to run in families and so is psoriasis. This means you are likely to suffer from the condition in case anyone in your family has been attacked by the same.
  • Both, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are caused when your body’s own immune system attacks your own body instead of foreign body, and causes inflammation of skin, joints, spine etc.

What Makes Psoriatic Arthritis and Psoriasis Different from One Another?

Psoriasis is a condition where one affected person meets with scaly, red and white patches called plaques on the skin surface. However, in psoriatic arthritis the person’s joint turns stiff, due to inflammation and may cause swelling, pain and even can damage the joint if not treated at an early stage.

Now, though psoriatic arthritis may be linked with psoriasis, it must be mentioned that there is no connection between the location of your plaques or skin lesions and the joints which are affected. It is also true that not everyone who has psoriasis will suffer from psoriatic arthritis. Let us see how psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis differ from one another.

  • Skin lesions in psoriasis may occur in elbow but you would not have pain, swelling and will not have any issues in moving or bending it. However, inflammations caused due to psoriatic arthritis causes swelling, pain and stiffness and also may make it difficult to move the joints.
  • There may be swollen toes in psoriatic arthritis but no redness or scales on your feet as seen in psoriasis.
  • Psoriatic arthritis can damage the joints but psoriasis do not cause lasting harm to the skin where they cause inflammation.

Conclusion:

From all the above similarities and dissimilarities we mentioned above, it must be known that even though psoriatic arthritis is connected with psoriasis at times; not everyone who is suffering from psoriasis will grow the condition of psoriatic arthritis. There are also cases where patients of psoriasis never grow psoriatic arthritis.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:August 29, 2022

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