Lifestyle
With the guidance of your doctor and other healthcare professionals, you can make lifestyle changes that will help you manage your PsA:
- Physical activity to maintain strength
- Healthy eating to achieve and maintain a healthy weight
- Develop relaxation and coping skills to maintain a positive outlook
- Helps protect joints by strengthening the muscles around them. Strong muscles and tissues help support joints that have been weakened and damaged by PsA.
- Physical activity recommended by your doctor, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist can help reduce pain and tiredness. It also helps you move around and generally makes you feel better.
Being overweight puts an extra burden on your joints (back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet).
If you are overweight, a balanced diet may help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Also, healthy eating contributes to giving you energy for your daily activities.
Relaxation can help reduce pain and help you cope. Try:
- Deep breathing exercises
- Listening to music
- Relaxation tapes
Goals
INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES
The primary goals of treating patients with PsA is to maximize:
- Long-term health-related quality of life through control of symptoms
- Prevention of structural damage
- Normalization of function and social participation
Control of inflammation, targeted at remission, is an important approach to achieving these goals.
MEASURES OF PsA
Your doctor will evaluate you in various ways to monitor the effects of treatment on your PsA. Some common tests include:
- Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI)
- Tender/swollen joint count
- Skin assessment: Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)