What Is Arthritis?
The joints in your hands are constantly exposed to stressors due to everyday life, and in most cases your body repairs the damage naturally. With arthritis, this is not the case. The three forms of arthritis that affect the hands are:
Osteoarthritis effects the protective cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in your hands and effects the joints by gradually breaking it down and wearing it away. Cartilage is a very tough, shock-absorbing material that allows the bones in a joint to glide easily during motion and when gone, causes pain and injury.
The loss of the cartilage causes painful bone-on-bone rubbing. Other symptoms of arthritis include immobility, swelling, and the formation of bony growth spurs in the affected area.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, leading to hand deformity and loss of function. The protective membrane called synovium that covers joints, secrete a lubricant called synovial fluid, which acts as a cushion between the joints and ligaments to reduce friction between the bones and prevent “wear and tear.” RA causes the synovium to become inflamed, which prevents it from working properly.
Psoriatic arthritis causes pain, swelling and stiffness in and around the joints in your hands, It affects about 1 in 4 patients who already have the skin condition psoriasis. Some patients may develop psoriatic arthritis before the skin condition psoriasis is even present.
Psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis are both autoimmune conditions, caused by an issue in your immune system.
Your immune system protects you from illness and infection. But in autoimmune conditions, the immune system becomes confused and attacks healthy parts of the body, often causing inflammation.
Patients with psoriasis can get other types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions are not linked to psoriasis though.