Community Views: Helpful Devices for Psoriatic Arthritis

Chronic pain can make everyday chores more challenging. The longer someone has lived with a painful diagnosis such as psoriatic arthritis (PsA), the more devices they tend to rely on. These tools can simplify work and household duties.

A look at some helpful devices while managing PsA

To find out which devices the community finds most helpful, we reached out to the PsoriaticArthritis.com Facebook page. We asked the community, “Fill in the blank: The tool that makes my life with PsA easier is _____.”

More than 200 community members shared their most helpful devices. Here is what they said.

Grabbers

Many people in the PsA community shared that they have found much relief from using a grabber tool. This is a small metal pole that helps you pick things up without bending over or reaching up high. Some people like this tool so much that they keep several in the home.

• “Picker-uppers and grabbers.”
• “God bless the person that invented the reacher! We have 1 in every room of the house. These are very helpful for getting anything off the floor or reaching up over my head.”

Kitchen tools

It makes sense that a kitchen is a place where many members rely on special tools to alleviate pain from everyday tasks. Several people shared that jar openers and electric can openers are a huge help. Electric mixers, especially the ones with attachments, can also make kitchen work easier on your hands.

• “My Kitchenaid stand mixer and all its attachments. It allows me to cook again and does the things my hands no longer allow me to do.”
• “The Tornado can opener is a godsend. I cannot crank a manual one. Some days it is even a struggle to use the electric countertop opener.”
• “A jar opener.”

Body support devices

For anyone experiencing pain and inflammation in the legs, a cane, walker, or even crutches can help. Taking some of the weight and pressure off of the joints can help reduce pain. Canes and walkers also make you more stable. And that makes you less likely to fall.

• “My supporting braces for all sorts of joints.”
• “Crutches.”
• “My cane or walker. I live alone and this is not easy.”

Heating devices

Heat can be such a pain-relieving tool. Community members shared that they rely on heat. This could come from a bath or a dip in the hot tub or a device, such as a heated blanket, a heating pad, heated seating pads and even a mattress heating pad.

Some of these devices are especially great in that they can be positioned to support different parts of your body. So you can put them where you need pain relief the most.

• “A heated blanket helps with pain all over.”
• “My hot tub!”
• “Heating pad for sure!”
• “Heated mattress pad.”
• “The most useful tools right now are the heated seats and steering wheel in my car.”

Shower tools

After the kitchen, the room where community members were most likely to rely on a tool was the bathroom. Helpful devices mentioned included shower stools as well as electric brushes to make washing your back and other parts easier.

• “Shower stool.”
• “Long electric scrubbing brush for the tub.”

Comfort items for the bed

Although technically not tools or devices, the pillows and body support that community members mentioned help them get quality rest. People mentioned shaped and supportive pillows as well as the bed itself. The more comfortable you can get at night or during a nap, the more sleep you will get to leave you feeling recharged.

• “Shaped pillow.”
• “​​My bed. I seem to be in it most of the time with fatigue.”
• “My Coop pillow. I have had it for 2 years, and it is my best friend.”

Supportive loved ones

Handy as a helping device can be, the most support, according to community members, comes from a loved one. Several people mentioned that having a spouse, friend, or member of their extended family to lean on for support makes all the difference.

Of course, not everyone has someone to support them regularly in the home. In either case, it is still a relief to have helping devices for those times when we are alone and in need of some extra help.

• “A husband that understands and is very supportive and helps me a lot!”
• “My wife, Caron.”