7 Assistive Devices That Make Living With Psoriatic Arthritis a Bit Easier

There’s nothing quite like physical pain to make you dread doing even the simplest tasks—whether it’s twisting a door handle open or blow-drying your hair. For the 1 million adults in the U.S. who have psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a form of arthritis that affects some people who have psoriasis, these types of everyday activities can feel downright impossible due to the stiffness, swelling, and reduced range of motion in their joints.

“Because PsA is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect multiple areas of the body, daily activities can present big challenges,” says Maura Daly Iversen, P.T., D.P.T., a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association and a professor of public health and physical therapy at Sacred Heart University. “The irony is that when you’re in a lot of pain, it can be tempting to reduce your level of activity—but with an inflammatory disease like PsA, moving can actually help relieve some inflammation in your joints.”

Thankfully, there are a number of assistive devices that can help you move throughout your day with less strain on inflamed joints, says Jennifer Ruse, O.T., C.L.T., an occupational therapist in Oklahoma City who is a PsA patient herself. Here, Ruse and Karena Wu, D.P.T., a physical therapist in New York City and owner of ActiveCare Physical Therapy, share the products that help patients with PsA the most.