Celiac & Joint Pain

The connection between celiac disease and the joint pain of rheumatoid arthritis is not widely understood. While both are autoimmune disorders, their symptoms are so different that a connection is rarely suspected. Additionally, treating one and not the other can result in little or no relief. How treatment of one condition affects the symptoms of the other is vital to consider when both conditions are present.

Identification

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease triggered by an immune reaction to wheat gluten, a protein found in pasta, cookies and bread. If you eat products containing gluten and have celiac disease, the immune response causes damage to your small intestine and failure to absorb nutrients. This ultimately deprives your brain, internal organs and peripheral nervous system of vital nutrients. Left untreated, celiac can further lead to rheumatoid arthritis, another autoimmune disorder resulting in extreme joint pain.

Causes

The cause of celiac is unknown, but it does tend to run in families. Celiac appears to occur following an infection, injury or other stress to the body.

Joint Pain

Joint pain in response to celiac is more than a simple symptom. When given a hypoallergenic diet, approximately 75 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients experienced relief.

Arthritis---joint pain---is not often recognized as a possible food allergy. People with arthritis may notice increased pain and swelling in the joints following the intake of gluten. If this sounds like you and no connection between your diet and arthritis has been recognized by your doctor, bring it to his attention immediately.

Treatment

While analgesics may be prescribed to ease the symptoms of your joint pain, these do not treat or cure the underlying celiac disease and may in fact exacerbate it by causing further intestinal upset. There is no cure for either celiac or rheumatoid arthritis. Eliminate gluten from your diet to avoid triggering an allergic response causing joint pain. Foods in which gluten is commonly found include bread, cereal, gravy, cookies, sauces, crackers and cakes. Gluten-free foods include fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and fish.

Special gluten-free flours allow you to eat breads and pastas that will not exacerbate your condition.

Lipstick and postage stamp glue may contain gluten. Some vitamins and medications use gluten as a binding agent. Using kitchen equipment, condiment containers or utensils that have been exposed to products containing gluten creates a risk of cross contamination.

A professional dietitian can help you plan a diet that helps you stay healthy.

Other Symptoms

Celiac has no specific combination of symptoms that make a diagnosis apparent. It's often confused for other conditions like anemia, nervous conditions and gastric ulcers. Symptoms to watch out for include occasional diarrhea, abdominal pain, depression, upset stomach, muscle cramps, tingling in the legs or feet, weight loss and fatigue. Joint pain in conjunction with any of these other symptoms should be noted immediately.

Identify and manage celiac early to avoid the development of other serious conditions that may result if the condition is left untreated.