Psoriatic Arthritis or something else?

I would suggest that if you are feeling pain from something while running or excercising - stop the excerscises that bring on that pain until you see a doctor/physio and know what it is, or at least get professional advice. Pain is frequently a warning from your body that something is not quite right. NEVER simply push through unknown pain. I would suggest that concluding that you have PA, based on a single symptom of achilles tendon pain is quite a leap. You may have some form of injury brought on by running, but get medical advice.

I can tell you that I learned a lot about myself (health-wise) in the past year. I am now 67 and have had plaque psoriasis since I was about 20. The real fun started about 6 years ago when, out of nowhere, my achilles tendon began to ache. I hadn't been running nor doing anything especially physical at the time. I consulted with several podiatrists and several physical therapists, but no one really came up with a reason (other than that I had likely partially torn my achilles) or a solution (although some of the PT exercises prescribed did help a little bit if I did them religiously. At that point, I pretty much decided that it was just something I would have to live with for the rest of my life, and I gave up my dream of being able to run just one more 100 yard dash (my event in high school). Then, about a year ago, I partially, then fully tore a bicep tendon doing some yard work. I also had problems with elbow tendons on both sides with no apparent cause. The orthopedist I saw for these tendon problems didn't seem to have come to any firm diagnosis other than that this was just part of the aging process. Neither he nor anyone else ever drew a connection between these various events or even suggested psoriatic arthritis might be in play. Coincidentally, my wife (who was suffering from neck and back pain) was recently diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (even though she had never had plaque psoriasis). I decided to see her rheumatologist and, sure enough, learned that I, too, had the same disease. Now everything began to make sense. All of these seemingly unrelated tendon issues over all these years were actually likely the result of my PsA. I wish I had better news as far as the outcome for me. We still have not found a medication or combination of medications that work for me. (You may have noticed a recent rise in TV ads aimed at treating PsA with new biologics … it must be the disease du jour.) The only relief I ever had was when my PCP prescribed prednisone for a totally unrelated matter. By the 4th day on it, I had no pain whatsoever and felt the best I had in years. Unfortunately, prednisone is not a medication that one can stay on for long term use without significant damage to various organs and bodily systems. I guess the point of this long-winded story is that one may consult with numerous health professionals over the years and yet no one individual practitioner necessarily has enough information or background to think of all possibilities. Your specific case may or may not be the result of psoriatic arthritis, but hopefully you won’t have to spend 6 years searching like I have. I would suggest, though, including a rheumatologist in your search for the truth. With any luck, your achilles problems may be just the “usual” one that distance runners often have and, with conservative PT exercises, you’ll be as good as new in short order. Good luck!