Psoriatic arthritis can disrupt everyday activities and detract from your quality of life if you let it. Fortunately, there are numerous things you can do to reduce psoriatic arthritis pain and prevent the condition from making it difficult for you to enjoy activities you've always loved. The following are six things you can avoid so that you minimize any symptoms you experience as a result of your psoriatic arthritis:
Delay of treatment
The longer you wait to have your psoriatic arthritis treatment, the more you're going to have to deal with pain and the harder it will be to get rid of pain once you finally do treat the condition. When you seek treatment for your psoriatic arthritis, you are given both medications and lifestyle changes to make to fight the pain. Both forms of treatment are inevitably more successful when psoriatic arthritis is in an early stage, so don't delay seeking treatment.
Lack of exercise
One of the many benefits that regular exercise offers is a relief of some psoriatic arthritis symptoms. Exercise can help with psoriatic arthritis symptoms in a variety of ways including by improving circulation, reducing inflammation, and strengthening the muscles.
Poor-fitting footwear
You might not realize that your footwear can directly impact your psoriatic arthritis symptoms. However, wearing footwear that is not adequately supportive and doesn't fit right can worsen psoriatic arthritis pain. This is especially the case when you're dealing with psoriatic arthritis pain in your feet and ankles. Poor-fitting footwear can aggravate inflammation and restrict movement. You should, therefore, make sure your footwear is comfortable and effective at providing support to your body when you're standing, walking, or running.
Stress
Stress can worsen psoriatic arthritis pain in numerous ways including by increasing inflammation. Fortunately, stress is one of the easiest causes of psoriatic arthritis pain aggravation to prevent. You can reduce stress by cutting back on some of your professional and personal commitments. You can also reduce stress by participating in relaxing activities including meditation.
Fatigue
If you don't get enough rest, your psoriatic arthritis pain is likely to worsen. General fatigue will weaken your muscles and joints, leaving you more susceptible to pain. Simply incorporating a power nap into your daily schedule could go a long way in reducing your psoriatic arthritis symptoms.
Weight gain
When you gain weight, more stress is placed on the joints that exhibit psoriatic arthritis symptoms. When you lose weight, you make it so that loads placed on your joints aren't as heavy. You need to avoid weight gain and hopefully drop a few pounds if you're looking for ways to mitigate psoriatic arthritis pain.
Ask your doctor about all of your psoriatic arthritis treatment options.