Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!

Sciatica


clbevilacqua

Recommended Posts

clbevilacqua Explorer

It seems that celiacs have more problems with sciatica than normal. Is this true or am I just getting old and sitting on my bum too much?

I have a great stretch for my sciatic pain but would also be interested in any other exercises that y'all can share.

Thanks!

-Cathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Rusla Enthusiast

It could be both. I got sciatica after some extreme surgery but could it have been also caused by celiac, I really don't know. I always say my psychotic nerve is acting up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kalanfan Explorer

I got sciatica from falling in the shower.....sounds like im old....im only 20 lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
julie5914 Contributor

I have it and I don't know why - My MRI came back ok! It's been bothering me in conjunction with IT band trouble for years now. I'm trying pysical therapy again so that I might have a shot at running again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 5 weeks later...
Megz Newbie

THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

I've had sciatica since I was 18 years old. I'm an avide dancer, and have been since I was 3, I have a strong back, work out daily, eat healthy and than VOILA! Suddenly I'm walking in Wal-Mart and feel as if my knee gave out on me and then two hours later I'm in the hospital being given Tylenol 3 for the pain. I managed to suffer through and never went through with any of my plans of going to university for dance because of fear for a relapse :( I just found out three days ago that I am positive for ciliacs and my doctor went "oh well that explains a lot." Gee, no kidding.

I can't say I'm happy for everyone with both sciatica and ciliac, but thank you so much for posting this topic, I'm still young and if I get this under control and my back gets better (considerably) I'm treating myself to choreography classes and a couple of auditions :lol:

Megan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nancym Enthusiast

Just a heads up, especially to you youngsters :), really bad sciatica can be one of the first signs of ankylosing spondylitis. Its a nasty disease that makes your spine stiff and unbendable (in some) or just very painful in joints and tendons. So if you're constantly suffering from this, get in to see a rheumatologist as you can. There are treatments that can prevent a lot of the damage. It is an autoimmune disease so celiacs are probably more likely to have it than regular folks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
brendygirl Community Regular

Sciatica-like pain was just a symptom of celiac for me.

My father and I both had Back and Leg pain to where my doc thought I had sciatica

BUT once I went gluten free, it's gone!

When I get glutened accidentally, I get the leg pain back temporarily.

My dad was referred to back surgery since he was a truck driver, but

going without wheat solved it for him!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



  • 3 years later...
angelikness Newbie

Just a heads up, especially to you youngsters :), really bad sciatica can be one of the first signs of ankylosing spondylitis. Its a nasty disease that makes your spine stiff and unbendable (in some) or just very painful in joints and tendons. So if you're constantly suffering from this, get in to see a rheumatologist as you can. There are treatments that can prevent a lot of the damage. It is an autoimmune disease so celiacs are probably more likely to have it than regular folks.

Thank you for this. I just signed up with an account to reply to this. Was searching for a connection between Celiac and back issues. I've been suffering since age 20 to present with severe back pain and spasms that leave me unable to move. Last episode took a year to recover from, even with therapy. I'd never heard of ankylosing spondylitis until accidently happening upon your post. Good info. Thanks so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stef-the-kicking-cuty Enthusiast

I get real bad sciatica every time I'm glutened and when I'm glutened only. I thought this was really weird, until I saw this post. Apparently not. I feel a lot better now, knowing that apparently I'm not the only one. Oh, and I can crack my own back and fix it with that. And same as julie, the MRI didn't show anything. And I have a very strong back, too, because of being a professional martial artist. But with this I've found, it's not the back you have to strengthen, it's the belly ;) . Whenever my belly was really good toned (I'm talking like 6-pack style... and yes, I'm a woman, lol), I was less prone to getting it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

I agree with Stef. I get lots of different aches and pains from glutening and sciatica is one of them. If I keep limber I have less problems. Core exercises are important as well as the whole back of the leg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VioletBlue Contributor

Oh my, I never stopped to think others started having it so young too. It started in my teens for me too. I never knew why or even what it was at first. It is almost completely gone if I am 100% gluten free. I rarely get episodes anymore unless I get accidentally glutened. Wow, coincidence or not I wonder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GlutenGladi8or Apprentice

I used to have such bad Sciata problems in the morning, that I had to use my forearms just to get out of bed. And then, I would literally LIMP 50% of my walk with the dogs before dawn until it would be okay to walk on.

I brought this pain to the attention of a friend at the gym who is a Physical Therapist and he gave me a set of stretches that I do EVERY morning now.

I must say that I have had zero incidences since doing them (almost 2 years).

And, yes, I'm either at a desk chair most of the day or in an airline seat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
inmygenes Apprentice

It seems that celiacs have more problems with sciatica than normal. Is this true or am I just getting old and sitting on my bum too much?

I have a great stretch for my sciatic pain but would also be interested in any other exercises that y'all can share.

Thanks!

-Cathy

I've had problems with sciatica too and yoga really helps, deep hip stretches really loosen up those areas. It seems that it's sometimes caused by sitting too much as well as wearing high heels. A lot of tension is stored around the hip area and lower back so any relaxing form of exercise would really help. I try to avoid wearing high heels and that helped as well as regular yoga practice. I'm not sure that celiacs are more susceptible but possibly if they are it could be due to having other health issues and being more sedentary.

Here are some yoga positions you could try (make sure you see a qualified teacher):

Pigeon pose

Bound Angle Pose

Reclining Bound Angle Pose

A regular sauna or whirlpool and going swimming would also help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
blowersm Newbie

This is interesting. I have been limiting gluten for about 3 years after a doctor suggested it when I was having extreme back and abdominal pain, with sciatica. I went completely gluten free for 2 weeks & everything cleared up. She did a blood test for celiac which was negative, so she did not pursue it further, but I saw a connection with the back pain.

Last Friday I started having severe back pain & sciatica. I had not done anything to aggravate it, physically, but I had had pizza & pasta the day before (why do they call it "comfort" food??). Sunday I went to the emergency room and after checking my reflexes etc. their doctor diagnosed sciatica. I'm supposed to follow up with my own doctor today for further treatment if necessary. But I went back gluten free as of Sunday and now my back does not hurt, only my leg. The ER doctor did give me a Medrol pack of prednisone so I'm not sure if that relieved the inflammation enough that my back doesn't hurt. I definitely see a connection though.

I believe in staying "regular" and if I have any severe symptoms--migraine, abdominal pain, sinusitis--I usually do either an enema or laxative--which I don't need very often. That usually does help in a short time. I've also heard that fiber helps clear your system if you inadvertently get some gluten.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alwayssomething Contributor

I have been gluten free just over a year and have several other autoimmune diseases as well, but about 3 months ago I had terrible issues with sciatic, I went to a chiroprator and added stretches and even was haveing deep tissue massage. I was getting very little if any relief, but my chiro is the lead dr on a Fibromyalga board so he had a lot of experience with autoimmune. He reminded me that we are extra prone to inflamation, and it doesn't always have to be something that we eat, although your sensitivies will be the first to set it off. I started to see someone (Chiropractor) that does Active Release Technique therapy and after 3 15 minute sessions I was pain free. After 4, I spent 12 hours walking a theme park. He too said this is from imflamation and said that sciatic can cause nerve entrapment. I don't know how many dr's do this, but I having been telling the world as I truley believe I still would not be able to walk upright and would still be in pain almost every day if not for this guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GottaSki Mentor

I've been gluten-free for three and half years and grain free for over a year. While I still have many problems from long undiagnosed Celiac Disease - lower back pain/sciatica is completely gone. I'd been seeing a chiropractor followed by a sports chiropractor most of my adult life each time my lower back pain was severe. He believed this pain was caused by a malformed lowest vertebrae. I have not had this pain in quite a while - over two years - I do believe it was the removal of gluten that was the resolution of this particular pain.

I can confirm that anyone with this type of pain needs to keep the back as strong as possible through a good exercise program. I was told at 18 it was absolutely necessary for me to have surgery to repair my back. I refused, headed for the library to find other remedies - found a few books with stretches and exercise good for lower back pain - strengthened my back and never went back to the orthopedist that was certain my only solution was surgery. Turned out to be a very good decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
33Diane Newbie

This is an interesting topic. I just got diagnosed with sciatica and am also waiting for results to see if I have celiac. It will be interesting if there is a connection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
ByeByeBarley Newbie

Before I went gluten free, I had all kinds of back and leg problems and I'm pretty sure sciatica was at least part of what my chiropractor diagnosed it as. While he provided temporary relief, my problems just got worse and worse to the point that just getting up from a chair or walking was agonizing. Eventually, he said that he thought there must be something else to my problems besides alignment.

Not long after that I went gluten free and very quickly those (and many other) problems started getting better. My back problems are basically gone now. I feel pretty certain now that my back problems were related to gluten and even at the time noticed that my back pain and other symptoms would all get worse at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nvsmom Community Regular

I've had a LOT of sciatic pain over the last 10 years with bulging discs. Eventually one of my discs burst and pinched off and killed the sciatic nerve that was causing me the most problems. It caused some paralysis down my leg right to my big tow... on the bright side, it doesn't hurt anymore in that spot. LOL

I do wonder sometimes if the sciatica was aggravated by the inflammation caused by untreated celiac disease. I still get a sore and stiff back now, 6 months into the gluten-free diet, but I'm guessing there's been too much damage done for just a diet change to fix me at this point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 6 months later...
BZBee Apprentice

Interesting topic! I too have a sciatica but I got mine moving something the wrong way. The orthodopedic I saw at the time said I was in the typical category (female over 30). As far as celiac I know all my aches and pains flare up when I'm glutened, but I just figured it was the immune system hitting the weakest areas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 years later...
Bobby Bolding Newbie

long and difficult road dealing with sciatica pain. found out in addition to ibuprofen it responded well to benadryl   , multiVitamin B complex, . Vitamin B12 .  Found out B12 is also a antihistamine . so why are antihistamines blocking severe pain? Its because your own body is dumping histamine on your nerve, for me eating gluten within 8 hrs i would be in crippling sciatic pain that would take days to recover from , it is consistent , and reproducible.  so from now on its no more gluten  cheating for me. No sir , not worth it one bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - cristiana replied to Larzipan's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      16

      Has anyone had terrible TMJ/ Jaw Pain from undiagnosed Celiac?

    2. - Julie Riordan replied to Julie Riordan's topic in Traveling with Celiac Disease
      3

      Any ideas for travelling

    3. - Nedast replied to Larzipan's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      16

      Has anyone had terrible TMJ/ Jaw Pain from undiagnosed Celiac?

    4. - trents replied to SuzanneL's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test

    5. - SuzanneL posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,498
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kim.cervone513
    Newest Member
    Kim.cervone513
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @Nedast, and welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read of your experiences. Although I've not had TMJ, from time to time I have had a bit of mild pain in my jaw, sharp stabbing pains and tingling in my face which appears to have been caused by issues with my trigeminal nerve.  I read that sometimes a damaged trigeminal nerve in coeliacs can heal after adopting a gluten free diet.  I try to keep out of cold winds or wear a scarf over my face when it is cold and windy, those conditions tend to be my 'trigger' but I do think that staying clear of gluten has helped.  Also, sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck is a tip I picked up online, again, that seems to bring benefits. Thank you again for your input - living with this sort of pain can be very hard, so it is good to be able to share advice.
    • Julie Riordan
      I am going to France in two weeks and then to Portugal in May   Thanks for your reply 
    • Nedast
      I made an account just to reply to this topic. My story resembles yours in so many ways that it is truly amazing. I also suddenly became lactose intolerant, went a little under 10 years attributing all my symtoms to different body parts, never thinking it was something systemic until much later. I had the same mental problems - anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc. In fact, the only real difference in our story is that I was never formally diagnosed. When I discovered that my myriad symtoms, that had been continuous and worsening for years, all rapidly subsided upon cessation of consuming gluten, I immediately took it upon myself to cut gluten out of my diet completely. I live in America, and had lost my health insurance within the year prior to my discovery, so I could not get tested, and I will never willingly or knowingly consume gluten again, which I would have to do in order to get tested now that I have insurance again. But that is not the point of this reply. I also had extreme TMJ pain that began within months of getting my wisdom teeth out at - you guessed it - 17 years old. I was in and out of doctors for my various symptoms for about 5 years before I gave up, but during that time I had also kept getting reffered to different kinds of doctors that had their own, different solutions to my TMJ issue, an issue which I only recently discovered was related to my other symptoms. I began with physical therapy, and the physical therapist eventually broke down at me after many months, raising her voice at me and saying that there was nothing she could do for me. After that saga, I saw a plastic surgeon at the request of my GP, who he knew personally. This palstic surgeon began using botox injections to stop my spasming jaw muscles, and he managed to get it covered by my insurace in 2011, which was harder to do back then. This helped the pain tremendously, but did not solve the underlying problem, and I had to get repeat injections every three months. After a couple of years, this began to lose effectiveness, and I needed treatments more often than my insurance would cover. The surgeon did a scan on the joint and saw slight damage to the tissues. He then got approved by insurance to do a small surgery on the massseter (jaw) muscle - making an incision, and then splicing tissue into the muscle to stop the spasming. It worked amazingly, but about three months later it had stopped working. I was on the verge of seeing the top oral surgeon in our city, but instead of operating on me, he referred me to a unique group of dentists who focus on the TMJ and its biomechanical relationship to teeth occlusion (i.e. how the teeth fit together). This is what your dentist did, and what he did to you was boderline if not outright malpractice. There is a dental field that specializes in doing this kind of dental work, and it takes many years of extra schooling (and a lot of money invested into education) to be able to modify teeth occusion in this manner. Just based on the way you describe your dentist doing this, I can tell he was not qualified to do this to you. Dentists who are qualified and engage in this practice take many measurments of your head, mouth, teeth, etc., they take laboratory molds of your teeth, and they then make a complete, life-size model of your skull and teeth to help them guide their work on you. They then have a lab construct, and give you what is called a "bite splint." It looks and feels like a retainer, but its function is entirely different. This is essentially a literal splint for the TMJ that situates on the teeth. The splint is progressively modified once or twice per week, over several months, in order to slowly move the joint to its correct position. The muscles spasm less, stress is taken off the joint, as the joint slowly moves back into its proper position. The pain reduces each month, each week, sometimes even each day you go in for a visit. The joint has to be moved in this manner with the splint BEFORE the modification to the teeth begins. They then add to your tooth structure with small bits of composite, to keep the joint in its proper place after it has been sucessfully repositioned. Subtracting from your teeth, by grinding down bits of your natural tooth structure, is done very conservatively, if they have to do it at all. This process worked for me - after six months, my face, jaw, neck all felt normal, and I had no more pain - a feeling I had not had in a long time. It also made my face look better. I had not realized the true extent that the spasming muscles and the joint derangement had effected the shape of my face. The pain began to return after a few months, but nowhere near where it had been before. This immense reduction in pain lasted for a little over two years. The treatment still ultimately failed, but it is not their fault, and it is still the treatment that has given me the most relief to this day. Later on, I even went about three years with very, very good pain reduction, before the joint severely destabilized again. This field of dentistry is the last line treatment for TMJ issues before oral surgery on the TMJ. There aren't as many denists around who practice this anymore, and the practice is currently shrinking due to dentists opting for less espensive, additional educations in things like professional whitening, which have a broader marketability. Getting this treatment is also very expensive if not covered by insurance (in America at least). My first time was covered by insurance, second time was not, though the dentist took pity on me due to the nature of my case and charged like a quarter of usual pricing. Most cases seen by these dentists are complete successes, and the patient never has to come back again. But occasionally they get a case that is not a success, and I was one of those cases. A little over a year ago, I began seeing the second dentist who keeps my TMJ stable in this manner. The first dentist retired, and then died sadly. A shame too, because he was a truly amazing, knowledgable guy who really wanted to help people. The new dentist began to get suspicious when my joint failed to stay stable after I was finished with the bite splint and his modifications, so he did another scan on me. This is ten years after the first scan (remember, I said the surgeon saw "slight" damage to the tissue on the first scan). This new scan revealed that I now no longer have cartilage in the joint, on both sides - complete degeneration of the soft tissues and some damage to the bone. The dentist sat me down and had a talk with me after these results came in, and said that when he sees damage like this in cases like mine, that the damage to the joint is most likely autoimmune, and that, in his experinece, it is usually autoimmune. He has sent patients with cases like mine to Mayo Clinic. He said he will continue to see me as long as the treatment continues to offer me relief, but also said that I will probably have to see a dentist for this type of treatment for the rest of my life. He is not currently recommending surgery due to my young age and the fact that the treatment he provides manages my symptoms pretty well. I still see this dentist today, and probably will see this kind of dental specialist for the rest of my life, since they have helped with this issue the most. I did not inform him that I am 100% sure that I have celiac disease (due to my complete symptom remission upon gluten cessation). I didn't inform him because I thought it would be inappropriate due to not having a formal diagnosis. I was disappointed, because I had believed I had caught it BEFORE it had done permanent damage to my body. I had never suspected that my TMJ issues may be related to my other symptoms, and that the damage would end up complete and permanent. Luckily, I caught it about 6 months after my other joints started hurting, and they stopped hurting right after I went gluten free, and haven't hurt since. I of course did the necessary research after the results of the second scan, and found out that the TMJ is the most commonly involved joint in autoimmune disease of the intestines, and if mutliple joints are effected, it is usually the first one effected. This makes complete sense, since the TMJ is the most closely related joint to the intestines, and literally controls the opening that allows food passage into your intestines. I am here to tell you, that if anyone says there is no potential relationship between TMJ issues and celiac disease, they are absolutely wrong. Just google TMJ and Celiac disease, and read the scientific articles you find. Research on issues regarding the TMJ is relatively sparse, but you will find the association you're looking for validated.
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @SuzanneL! Which tTG was that? tTG-IGA? tTG-IGG? Were there other celiac antibody tests run from that blood draw? Was total IGA measured? By some chance were you already cutting back on gluten by the time the blood draw was taken or just not eating much? For the celiac antibody tests to be accurate a person needs to be eating about 10g of gluten daily which is about 4-6 pieces of bread.
    • SuzanneL
      I've recently received a weak positive tTG, 6. For about six years, I've been sick almost everyday. I was told it was just my IBS. I have constant nausea. Sometimes after I eat, I have sharp, upper pain in my abdomen. I sometimes feel or vomit (bile) after eating. The doctor wanted me to try a stronger anti acid before doing an endoscopy. I'm just curious if these symptoms are pointing towards Celiac Disease? 
×
×
  • Create New...