Psoriatic Arthritis

When and why should Chiropractic fit into your care program?

The when is very simple. As soon as the inflammatory episode has subsided, a chiropractor may be able to help you. The manual techniques that chiropractors use are contraindicated during inflammatory flare-ups and should not be performed then.

The reasons why chiropractic can help with your flare-ups are; It helps reduce pain and stiffness. It is the joints between the bones that allow our bodies to move.

During the flare, not only are the joints connected to those areas that begin to become inflamed but also the ligaments. As soon as the inflammation persists, the patient is unable to use the joints properly. Even when the flare has ended, the joint may still be stiff and painful.

This may be due to some damage to the cartilage that cannot heal. However, part of this stiffness and pain is due to dysfunction of the muscle and ligament, and a chiropractor can help you. They will help alleviate muscle pain and spasms. These spasms cause the muscles to be weaker than normal.

This makes the limbs feel weak and the joints even more unstable. Muscles provide vital protection to the joints. The joints allow the muscles to function properly so that they have good tone and strength. Chiropractic helps prevent a vicious cycle of weakness and stiffness.

Chiropractic can help reduce degenerative changes in the joints. Persistent inflammation of the joint can lead to wear and tear of the cartilage and underlying bone.

Where Chiropractic can help is in slowing down the ongoing degenerative changes in people suffering from arthritis. We believe this is due to avoiding continuous stress on the joints, promoting a quicker return to the joints functioning as normally as possible.

What does a chiropractor do?

Chiropractors specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by the mechanical dysfunction of joints and the effects these dysfunctions have on nerves and muscles.

In most cases, what brings our patients to our office are spinal or joint pains. We may initially diagnose your arthritis. If I suspect someone has inflammatory psoriatic arthritis, I will immediately refer that person to their primary care physician.

I do not treat many people with psoriatic arthritis as I could, because unfortunately after their return to their doctor, I rarely see them again. However, from my experience, chiropractic care can actually complement other traditional treatments.

I would recommend both patients and their doctors to seriously consider it as a form of care. Chiropractors always look for the reasons for the pain. We are not just interested in the symptoms. The problem is often far from where the symptoms are. We will get to work to find the structures in your body that are causing the pain.

How do chiropractors treat patients with psoriatic arthritis?

An evaluation. First, we assess the movements of the joints both individually and how you move, standing and sitting. What we do is look at the active range of motion to see the extent of damage in the soft tissue and joints. We pay attention to how you walk, how you move your back, and the strength and function of the muscles.

This will direct our attention to the joint dysfunctions that need more help. We are very interested in restoration and preventive care. We teach patients simple exercise programs to do at home and provide ergonomic advice. We do everything possible to help patients help themselves.