Joint Pain

[tbritt]

Last Friday, I suspect I ingested gluten some time that afternoon (although I'm not sure from what). I handled dog treats given to me by the bank and didn't wash my hands afterward. I think I had a snack just a bit later. I spent the dinner hour that night on the toilet (and had no appetite). The following day, I was dizzy and "hung over" feeling. On Sunday and Monday, I was also feeling extra tired. On Tuesday, my hand started hurting in the same place I had a tendon issue before Christmas. (I had taken an antibiotic that apparently can give folks tendonitis. Leave it to me to get tendonitis!)

I use my hands hours and hours a day for work. It's not uncommon for folks in my field to get tendon injuries. However, I feel like my issues resolve when I'm all the way gluten free. When I gave up gluten, I was battling joint pain in my shoulder and neck. It would come back when I got gluten. It seems to have completely resolved at this point.

I am diligently doing PT exercises to heal my hand again. I am taking vitamins. I am eating a very bland gluten free diet until I feel like I've shaken whatever got me.

Has anyone else had recurring tendon problems after gluten ingestion?

I am considering giving up dairy and soy, but I don't want to if I don't have to. (I find it hard to get enough calories otherwise.)

I have been gluten free for more than 18 months. I have never intentionally ingested gluten since I quit.

[rosetapper23]

Yes, I can definitely affirm that I have had tendon problems as a result of eating gluten. Actually, I've experienced tendon and ligament problems since I was 11 years old, when my celiac was triggered. Most recently, when I was glutened (after seven years of eating gluten free) in April 2009, the tendons were so badly affected in my feet, I ended up with stress fractures in both feet within five weeks of the glutening occurrence. I was very disabled for more than a year. Six years ago, when I damaged the tendons in my left thumb during a fall (all the tendons detached from the base of my thumb), I met with an orthopedist who immediately asked me, "Oh, my God! What kind of muscular dystrophy do you have?!" I informed her that I didn't have MD; rather, I was born with celiac disease. My son and I used to have tendon pain in our wrists (similar to carpel tunnel pain), but that resolved after following a strict gluten-free diet. Slowly, the medical community is beginning to see a connection between celiac and musculoskeletal problems....but more studies need to be done.

[mushroom]

If you have been gluten free that long and still having problems, I would try getting rid of the soy first. Then try the dairy if that did not work. Soy is such a big problem for so many celiacs. I wish you pain-free strumming.

[dilettantesteph]

I get terrible joint pain from low level gluten contamination. I finally figured out my latest and it is so nice to be able to bend my elbow without pain again!

[UKGail]

tbritt - my glutening symptoms are exactly like yours re dizzyness/hung over feeling, bathroom runs etc. Add in a migraine with neck pain too. In the 3 years before going gluten free I suffered from frozen shoulder (capsulitis and tendonitis) in both shoulders. The most recent one eventually led to my diagnosis. Although I have only been gluten free for 4 months, I have noticed that the migraine, neck and shoulder pain all flare up either slightly from what I assume may be low-level contamination, and majorly if I get a good dose of it. It's not much fun. I am now trying to be really strict on a basic meat and veggies diet and avoiding places where there may be significant levels of gluten to see if that helps.

[Aly1]

I do get tendinitis in my wrists really badly, it was one of my very first problems. Nowadays I also get stiff and sore finger joints when I eat corn, so I avoid that too...

[tbritt]

I am actually a violinist and violin teacher by trade, so the tendon issues are a problem. My shoulder pain kept me from playing for a year. Doctors kept blaming it on the violin. I don't think the violin was ever the problem. I think it was malnourishment.

I am hoping to shake it over the next few weeks. The exercises have been keeping it from getting worse. Thanks for all of the replies.

[UKGail]

I think it might be an autoimmune inflammatory response rather than malnourishment per se. My own pet theory for what it is worth is that systemic inflammation caused by gluten ingestion hurts our weak spots most. Where I suffered pain previously (and which seems to recur with gluten ingestion) is where I either have structual problems because of dodgy discs or where I have previously suffered an injury. I guess for you if you use your hands and shoulders a lot, this is where you are at highest risk of wear and tear problems. I hope you get better soon.