Did You Know There Are Five Different Types of Psoriatic Arthritis?

Did you know there are 5 different types of psoriatic arthritis? If you did not, let me just tell you that I didn't either. That is totally weird in my book because I have had psoriatic arthritis for almost seven years. Maybe it's the paralegal side of me that loves doing research and I happened on an article on Health.com entitled "The Five Types of Psoriatic Arthritis." Some of it I agreed with and some of it I did not. I thought I would list those 5 types here to see what you as the reader thought of it. We are all here to help each other so let's learn together.

Asymmetric oligoarticular

The first one on their list was asymmetric oligoarticular. I know long word right? To make it more simple it can be called asymmetric psoriatic arthritis. They list it as asymmetric because usually one joint on one side of the body can be affected by arthritis while the same joint on the other side is not affected. I would have to agree with that because my right side of my hip hurts from arthritis, while I have no pain from my left hip. They did suggest in the article that only four or five joints are usually impacted with this type.

Symmetric polyarthritis

The second on the list is symmetric polyarthritis, kind of like the first one it can simply just be called symmetric psoriatic arthritis. Symmetric meaning it affects the same joints on both sides of the body. My psoriatic arthritis in my lower back agrees with that type. Interestingly they contend that this is the most common form of psoriatic arthritis with over half of all cases having this form. They did suggest that this form impacts five or more joints anywhere in the body.

Distal interphalangeal predominant

The third on the list is another set of long words, distal interphalangeal predominant. Simply it is arthritis affecting the fingers and toes. While I do know you can have arthritis in your fingers and toes all they listed was the symptoms that are more associated with having nail psoriasis such as pitting or separating. This is where I disagree with the article because in my opinion if you are going to talk about psoriatic arthritis you should tell how psoriatic arthritis affects the fingers and toes. After all, knowledge is power.

Spondylitis

The number 4 one is one that most of us with psoriatic arthritis should have heard about- it is spondylitis. Spondylitis affects the back, movement of the neck and the sacroiliac joints, which is the joint that is connected to your tailbone and helps support the spine. It also can affect the arms, legs, hands, and feet. While I haven't been diagnosed with it I will be having that talk with my doctor because all these areas are affected on me. Now I am curious to know if it has been stated in my medical file.

Arthritis mutilans

Number 5 was listed as being arthritis mutilans. Just the name of it got me thinking about mutations which are usually never good. Then I read the article and sure enough, it was bad. Arthritis mutilans is the severest form of psoriatic arthritis you can have. Only about 5% of all psoriatic arthritis cases get to this stage. The scary part is the loss of bone. They went on to say in the article that these cases are becoming rarer because of the use of systemic medications are helping to relieve the psoriatic arthritis damage.

My thoughts on the five types

I found this article both enlightening and scary. I did not know there were five kinds of psoriatic arthritis especially the arthritis mutilans, but knowledge is power. Now I am more informed. Now I hope you are too! Although I know there is not a definitive test for psoriatic arthritis I will stay more aware of my joint pains. I will also be having a more informative talk with my rheumatologist. I would love to know if any of you have been diagnosed with one of these five. Feel free to comment if you would like to tell how it came to be or if you were like me and unaware of the five types of psoriatic arthritis.