VIDEO: Non-pharmacological management options in psoriatic arthritis

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A key one is weight loss. We now know that if a patient is able to lose weight, they can actually improve their chances of having low disease activity or remission responses to treatments. So obesity is a contributor to the severity of psoriatic arthritis and weight loss is important. Having a healthy diet, there are of course many diets that are promoted. I think that if a patient finds that they are eating a good, balanced, healthy diet, that's good enough.

Doing conditioning exercise, some patients are hesitant, feeling that they may worsen their joint problems if they do conditioning exercise like swimming or some of the exercises in the gym. This should be encouraged, because overall, we find that it's helpful for patients. Obviously, if you have, say, a big flare of pain in your knees or feet after running, then use some good judgment in that regard. Physical therapy and occupational therapy, working with therapists, is I think very useful and important to strengthen weak muscles, to stretch tendons and ligaments, and to protect joints that may be damaged using the counsel of physical and occupational therapists. And of course, pain reduction techniques, such as acupuncture or mindfulness training, can be very useful for patients and I encourage those quite strongly.