The physiotherapeutic treatment for psoriatic arthritis depends on the severity of the disease and should be directed towards the relief of its symptoms and improvement of the function of each affected joint, being important the use of the remedies indicated by the rheumatologist because without them the disease evolves and the physiotherapy becomes inefficient. In this way the treatment consists of the combination of drugs, the apparatus and the physical therapy exercises.
The main symptoms in the case of arthritis caused by psoriasis are pain and stiffness of the joint, and there may be swelling and deformity of these, as well as altered posture as a form of protection of the pain site, decreased muscle strength and physiotherapy is able to alleviate all these symptoms, improving the quality of life of the person.
Some treatment options used in physical therapy may be exercises to develop muscle strength and joint amplitude and other techniques such as massage therapy for joint pain relief. Check out:
1. Use of moist heat
Wet heat can be made with paraffin gloves or warm water compresses, for example. The action time should be approximately 20 minutes, enough to promote sweating, increase blood circulation and relaxation of muscles and joints, being an excellent option to be used before performing joint mobilization techniques and stretching to increase the amplitude movements.
2. Exercises
They should be performed especially after heating the joint. A good example for the hands is to try to open the hand, lying on a table, keeping your fingers away. You can open and close your hand with slow, repetitive movements.
The game stone, paper and scissors is a fun way to stimulate the opening and closing of hands, which can be done several times during the day, being very easy for the person to join as a form of home treatment. The game consists of a competition between 2 people, similar to the odd or even game. However:
- The stone crushes the scissors but the paper wraps the stone;
- The paper wraps the stone but the scissors cut the paper;
- The scissors cut the paper but it is the stone that crushes the scissors.
To play you must face the opponent by hiding his hand. When speaking: Stone, paper or scissors, each has to make the movement with the hand that defines his object at the same time.
3. Mobilization
The affected joint tends to be very rigid and therefore mobilizes them with small rhythmic and repetitive movements is very useful because it increases the production of synovial fluid that hydrates it naturally. These small exercises should be performed by the physiotherapist because they are very specific.
4. Postural Exercises
In people with psoriatic arthritis there is a tendency to try to 'hide' by assuming a more 'hump' posture and closed hands. Thus, to counter these poor posture patterns, Clinical Pilates exercises are excellent choices because they are performed with the hands slightly closed and with the fingers stretched in a more correct posture, strengthening the muscles of the back and the back of the legs.
