Playing Sports With Psoriasis
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5 Ways to Play Sports Safely With Psoriasis

5 Ways to Play Sports Safely With Psoriasis
Stocksy
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Updated on July 22, 2025
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The health issues that can benefit most from exercise are often the same that prevent us from lacing up our sneakers. Psoriasis, an autoimmune condition that causes uncomfortable, itchy plaques on your skin, is one such illness, as is psoriatic arthritis, which affects your joints.

But staying active is important when you have a form of psoriasis, in part because exercise is so effective at helping manage stress and maintaining a healthy weight — two factors that are connected to disease severity and progression.

7 Tips for Working Out With Psoriasis

Finding an exercise routine to accommodate your psoriasis can help you stay active and healthy.
7 Tips for Working Out With Psoriasis

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Why Playing Sports With Psoriasis Matters

Staying active is an important way to improve your overall physical and mental health when you have psoriasis.

In people with psoriasis, obesity is connected to more severe illness and a lowered response to some biologic medications, one research review found.

 The authors suggest that weight loss via diet and exercise may improve psoriasis symptoms, but additional research is needed to develop specific treatment guidelines.
An earlier study conducted by Abrar A. Qureshi, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the department of dermatology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and his colleagues investigated whether people with psoriatic arthritis were gaining weight because of inactivity due to the condition, or if the weight gain came before symptoms started.

“We found that being overweight typically came first,” says Dr. Qureshi. “The degree of psoriasis is often related to your body mass index.”

7 Tips for Working Out With Psoriasis

Finding an exercise routine that accommodates your psoriasis can help you stay active and healthy.

However, not all exercise is equal if you’re trying to maintain a healthy weight, with or without psoriasis. To achieve weight loss and to maximize your defense against psoriasis flare-ups, taking a stroll is not going to be enough, Qureshi says. Higher-intensity aerobics — including sports like tennis, basketball, swimming, bicycling, and running (at a minimum of 5 miles per hour) — are what have been proven to be most effective, he says. If you have joint involvement, however, stick to low-impact cardio.

Additionally, psoriasis is associated with a host of other health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, liver disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

 Aerobic exercise and weight loss can help lower your risk of developing many of these health problems and improve overall health, Qureshi says.
Furthermore, one small study that tracked people with psoriasis who took part in 60-minute nature walks twice weekly for 10 weeks saw significant reductions in disease severity, the amount of skin covered by lesions, and blood pressure.

 Participants’ quality of life scores improved significantly, and so did their mental health.
Plus, about one-third of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis.

 Low-impact activities like strength training, biking, and swimming can help keep your joints flexible and your muscles strong.

 While taking up a sport may seem difficult, you will be rewarded for your efforts, Qureshi says.

The Challenges of Playing Sports With Psoriasis

“If someone has severe psoriasis that gets in the way of exercising, they need to see a dermatologist and get as close to clearing their skin as possible,” Qureshi notes. “Psoriasis should not be an impediment.”

Even when your psoriasis is well-controlled, there are challenges when it comes to playing sports.

Intense workouts can be hard for people with psoriasis, as sweat can aggravate itchy plaques.

There’s also inverse or flexural psoriasis, in which plaques are located inside skin folds, where sweat can be trapped and cause irritation.

For those who have psoriatic arthritis, symptoms like joint pain and stiffness can affect your ability to play sports.

5 Psoriasis-Friendly Tips for Playing Sports Safely

Try these strategies to help you get out onto the playing field without aggravating psoriasis symptoms:

1. Use a Barrier Cream

Qureshi recommends using something like zinc oxide to keep moisture out of areas where plaques can form and affect your comfort during games. This includes your feet, your groin, and other areas, such as your hands. If your sport requires you to wear gloves — whether it’s baseball, hockey, or squash — a barrier cream can also help prevent some of the friction that aggravates psoriasis.

2. Layer Up

In areas where clothing or protective gear can chafe skin, you should wear an under layer to reduce friction, suggests Qureshi. For example, wear a pair of socks underneath your shin guards to minimize contact and chafing. And stick with loose layers, as the friction from tight clothing can cause bleeding or new psoriasis plaques.

3. Evaluate Your Equipment

Sports equipment is another consideration for people with psoriasis. Helmets and shin guards that don’t fit properly or any hard protective gear that can rub or chafe the skin can lead to irritation, and even the formation of new plaques where the skin is damaged.

 So make sure your athletic gear is adjusted to fit well.

4. Avoid Injury

If you have psoriasis, you should be careful to avoid any type of skin trauma, as that can cause new plaques to form on the site. This is known as the Koebner phenomenon.

5. Stay on Top of Your Psoriasis Treatment Regimen

Most important, says Qureshi, is working with your dermatologist to treat your plaques, manage your symptoms, and minimize skin sensitivity. Before you shoot a goal or swim a lap, it’s helpful to first get your psoriasis under control. Following your treatment plan can help prepare and protect your skin for the field of play.

“There are so many available therapies now, and we can treat the psoriasis so you can start living an active life,” Qureshi says.

The Takeaway

  • Psoriasis, an autoimmune skin condition that causes painful, visible plaques, can make it hard to exercise. But research backs its role in reducing stress and maintaining a healthy weight, which can also reduce illness severity and frequency of flare-ups.
  • The condition also commonly occurs alongside other illnesses that exercise can help prevent or improve symptoms of, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
  • It can be hard to exercise with psoriasis, but fine-tuning your treatment regimen to make sure symptoms are well-controlled can help you successfully maintain a more active lifestyle.
  • Taking steps to protect your skin before engaging in sports can help make sports a sustainable, enjoyable activity.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Psoriasis. Cleveland Clinic. September 15, 2022.
  2. Rajasekharan A et al. Stress and psoriasis: Exploring the link through the prism of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and inflammation. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. July 2023.
  3. Derman C. Psoriasis Associated with Being Overweight, Obesity, Study Finds. American Journal of Managed Care. December 28, 2023.
  4. Delzell E. How Fat Affects PsA. Arthritis Foundation.
  5. Paroutoglou K et al. Deciphering the Association Between Psoriasis and Obesity: Current Evidence and Treatment Considerations. Current Obesity Reports. May 16, 2020.
  6. Wenqing L et al. Deciphering the Association Between Psoriasis and Obesity: Current Evidence and Treatment Considerations. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. May 5, 2012.
  7. Related Conditions of Psoriasis. National Psoriasis Foundation. February 3, 2025.
  8. Sheppard R et al. Increased Physical Activity Promotes Skin Clearance, Improves Cardiovascular and Psychological Health, and Increases Functional Capacity in Patients with Psoriasis. Skin Health and Disease. October 2024.
  9. About Psoriatic Arthritis. National Psoriasis Foundation. April 21, 2025.
  10. Exercise Helps Ease Arthritis Pain and Stiffness. Mayo Clinic. September 21, 2023.
  11. Psoriasis and Lifestyle: Expert Advice on Diet, Exercise, and Skincare | Skin And Cancer Institute. Skin and Cancer Institute.
  12. Inverse Psoriasis. National Psoriasis Foundation. March 26, 2025.
  13. Lifestyle Changes for Psoriatic Arthritis. NYU Langone Health.
  14. Gupta S et al. Elucidating the Role of Zinc Oxide in Dermatitis of Varied Etiology Across the Age Spectrum: A Comprehensive Review. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. April 2025.
  15. Sanchez DP et al. Koebner Phenomenon. StatPearls. November 14, 2022.
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Amy Spizuoco, DO

Medical Reviewer
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Amy Spizuoco, DO, is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist. Dr. Spizuoco has been practicing medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology, as well as dermatopathology in New York City for 12 years.

She did her undergraduate training at Binghamton University, majoring in Italian and biology. She went to medical school at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. After medical school, she completed her dermatology residency at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine–Alta Dermatology in Arizona. During that time she studied skin cancer surgery and pediatric dermatology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and attended dermatology grand rounds at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. After her residency, Spizuoco completed a dermatopathology fellowship at the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology.

She was previously an associate clinical instructor in the department of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is on the editorial boards of Practical Dermatology and Dermatology Times.

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Nina Wasserman is a journalist with more than a decade of experience interviewing people and writing on a variety of topics, including health, medicine, business, and faith, as well as human interest stories. Wasserman also home-schools her two children in New Jersey and teaches writing to middle school students. Her passion is foraging for mushrooms and edible plants in the woods, a practice that contributes to her health and wellness.

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