HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Rheumatoid & psoriatic arthritis
Mate rūmātiki me pona ngoikore mate tongatonga uri
Rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis are forms of arthritis called inflammatory arthritis.
In both conditions, your body mistakenly uses its immune system to attack the area between your joints. This can damage your joints and cause joint pain and loss of joint function.
Inflammatory arthritis can start at any age although it most commonly starts in middle age. It affects more women than men. The cause of inflammatory arthritis is not known.
Symptoms of inflammatory arthritis
The symptoms of inflammatory arthritis are:
- joint pain, tenderness and swelling
- stiffness when getting up in the morning or after periods of inactivity
- other symptoms not related to the joints, such as tiredness, skin changes and weight loss.
But these symptoms can also occur in other forms of arthritis and other diseases.
Diagnosing inflammatory arthritis
Inflammatory arthritis can be difficult to diagnose. This is because other conditions can have the same symptoms.
Your general practice team may ask you about your symptoms and how long you have had them. They will also examine your affected joints.
They may want to rule out other conditions such as septic arthritis and gout.
Your doctor may suggest you have some blood tests. You may also have joint X-rays to see if your joints are being damaged by your arthritis. Sometimes you will also have an MRI scan to look at your joints in more detail.
You will be usually be referred to a rheumatology specialist to confirm the diagnosis.
Self-care for inflammatory arthritis
- Stop smoking as smoking can increase your risk of inflammatory arthritis.
- Eating well and aiming for a healthy weight can improve your overall health and wellbeing.
- Keep physically active to help keep your joints flexible and your muscles strong. Tai chi, walking, swimming and gentle exercise classes are all excellent for arthritis. See Exercise and arthritis from Arthritis New Zealand. This has information about the benefits of keeping active when you have arthritis.
Treating inflammatory arthritis
Medications for inflammatory arthritis aim to treat the symptoms and prevent the disease from getting worse. Disease-modifying medications slow down the disease and its effects on your joints. The sooner you start this type of medication, the better.
You may also need other medications such as anti-inflammatories to treat your symptoms.
There are non-drug treatments, such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and occupational therapy. Ask your general practice team or rheumatologist about these options, and how you can access them.
Support for inflammatory arthritis
Arthritis New Zealand offers a range of services to people with all types of arthritis. They also have several programmes that cover aspects of managing this group of conditions. You can discuss individual self-management with a trained arthritis educator.
You may be able to get financial support to help with health related costs.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Arthritis New Zealand
Information and support for people with arthritis.
- DermNet NZ – Psoriatic arthritis
Detailed information about psoriatic arthritis.
- NHS – Rheumatoid arthritis
Detailed information about rheumatoid arthritis including a video.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2024.
SourcesReview key: HIRPA-18707
