If you have psoriasis, there’s an almost 1 in 3 chance your joints may be affected at some point. Understanding your risk and regularly watching for the signs and symptoms can help you make the connection sooner.
Psoriatic arthritis can start at any age, but it often appears between ages 30 and 50. Keeping an eye out for swollen, tender and painful joints or tendons that might come on suddenly or grow over time—particularly in more than one place on your body—could help you spot the early signs. Similarly, watch for symptoms like fatigue, reduced range of motion, and morning stiffness or tiredness.
Even if you’ve had psoriasis for a while without joint problems, don’t forget about your joints. It can take a long time for psoriatic arthritis to appear after the first signs of psoriasis—sometimes about ten years. That said, in some cases the two diseases can appear at the same time, and in about 15% of cases, symptoms of arthritis are noticed before psoriasis appears.