Psoriatic Arthritis Knee Pain
Psoriatic arthritis is so hard on the body. I haven't been dealing with it for as long as others. Mine started about seven years ago. It is mainly located in my lower back.
The spread of the psoriatic pain
However, as time has gone by, there are other areas that are being affected now. My right hip always seems to start hurting me at night while I try to sleep. The right side is my favorite position to sleep at night. My sleep is definitely impacted by pain.
So you can imagine my frustration now that my right knee has begun swelling and hurting due to PsA. The back is painful enough to deal with each day. Now I have to deal with my knee hurting too.
When did it start? Have I discussed it with my doctors? What do I do to make it better? Here's my story with knee pain.
When the knee pain began
I have always been an outdoor person. Whether it is out working in my flower beds or sitting by a roaring fire with my husband, I am always on the move. I actually started noticing my knee was swelling more when I was out in my yard.
You see my yard has a deep pitch to it. If I go to the bottom of the hill, it really puts pressure on my knee to come back up. I also have about six steps to climb to get into my house.
Multiple trips up and down those stairs make my knee hurt and swell. So how long has this gone on? Looking back over it the pain in my knee has been there for months now. I just really didn't want to think about psoriatic arthritis spreading to another part of my body.
Connecting my knee pain to psoriatic arthritis
It finally got to a point that I could not dismiss the pain anymore. I brought it to my primary doctor's attention first. He ordered an x-ray. He did note some deterioration when he took a look at the x-ray.
That was not what I wanted to hear at all. The next follow-up was to my rheumatologist. I took along a copy of the x-ray so she would not have to order another one. She confirmed what my primary had told me. Again not what I wanted to hear but it is what it is.
What are treatment options for knee pain?
Of course, the most obvious thing I can do to help the swelling and pain in my knee is to stay off of it as much as possible. I also have a tens unit that I can use on it to help ease the pain.
One of the things I have found most helpful has to be my ice pack. It truly has been the biggest help with taking the swelling down. I was on a biologic which was helping also.
However, due to another medical condition that has arisen, I am currently on hold on being able to take it. A knee brace and my ice pack are the only things I can do at this time.
All of the pain is no joke
It is amazing to discover how well the biologic was working. Now that I am not able to take it, my old nemesis is back to hurting. My back, my hip, and my knee are so painful. I would say it's the perfect trifecta but who would say it is perfect by any standards.
It definitely impacts my daily life. It also worries me about what may come in the future. Just how bad will my psoriatic arthritis get?
My only hope is that one day there will be a permanent cure and none of us will ever have to feel the pain of psoriatic arthritis again.
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