Psoriasis affects much more than just your skin.

“Psoriasis can affect a whole bunch of different systems,” said Dr. Adel Haque, a board-certified dermatologist. This might include your joints and tendons, he explained to Justina Ray. Justina is a mom of two and a teacher who lives with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

“I’ve experienced reduced mobility with my psoriasis,” Justina told Dr. Haque. “How does this happen, and what can I do to manage my mobility issues?”

Psoriasis and Your Joints and Tendons

About a third of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis, a type of inflammatory arthritis that causes symptoms like joint pain and stiffness. “With psoriasis, you wake up with morning stiffness a lot of the time,” Dr. Haque described.

Psoriatic arthritis can also cause something called enthesitis, or inflammation where your tendons and ligaments attach to bone. As Dr. Haque explained, “That area can get really inflamed, and I think that can cause a lot of pain and stiffness for patients.”

Symptoms like joint pain, stiffness, and enthesitis can make it harder for people with psoriatic arthritis to move around. “I noticed my mobility is less in my hands and in my joints,” Justina said.

Areas that can be affected include hands, elbows, knees, and the Achilles tendon, Dr. Haque noted. “That can really slow down your mobility,” he said.

Preventing Mobility Problems

“Psoriatic patients that have scalp psoriasis have a three times higher risk of having joint disease. It’s one of the signs that we as providers think about,” Dr. Haque said. “‘Hey, I might want to pretreat this person.’ Even if you have scalp psoriasis but no joint pain, I might want to get you on something that’s going to prevent that joint pain from happening.”

Justina is among those with scalp psoriasis who go on to have joint symptoms. “About four months after I was diagnosed with psoriasis, I started to have joint pain,” she said.

If psoriasis is already affecting your ability to move around and be active, it’s not too late to get help. Talk to your doctor about your joint symptoms and how your mobility is affected. There are treatments available that can help control inflammation and improve your symptoms. Lifestyle habits, like regular exercise, can also help improve your mobility.

“We can totally treat this,” Dr. Haque said.

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