Sore joints could be a symptom of coeliac disease

Karen Woodford, who recently had her first baby, suspected that her nagging sore ache in her thumbs were caused by pushing the pram, reports the Daily Mail. The 36-year-old had had niggling joint problems since her childhood days, which doctors had earlier claimed were likely to be a repetitive strain injury.

In October 2013, she was surprised to find out that her joint pains disappeared after following a gluten-free diet. This was because all this time, Woodford has been had been unknowingly suffering from coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease – a lifelong condition – in which your immune system attacks its own tissue because of the presence of gluten, a protein present in wheat, barley and rye (something that is found in nearly all bread, cakes and pasta). It is usually associated with symptoms like diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal pain, as well as fatigue and anaemia.

She was diagnosed properly only when a dietician friend urged her to get herself tested for coeliac disease. After switching to a gluten-free diet – the treatment for coeliac disease – not just her gut problems but her aches and pains ceased as well. She now runs a website called safereating.co.uk to help people with coeliac disease or food allergies.

Dr Alessio Fasano, a gastroenterologist and director of the Centre for Coeliac Research at Massachussetts General Hospital in the U.S., explains, “Coeliac disease causes inflammation in the gut (where gluten is digested along with other food) and in turn this inflammation damages the finger-like projections (villi) that line the intestines,” according to the Daily Mail.

He goes on to add that, “We now appreciate that while the inflammation starts in the gut, it can spread anywhere in the body. We believe it's to do with a particular type of immune cell that usually homes in on the intestine when there's gluten. However these cells appear to then be programmed to leave the battlefield in the intestine, and go on the attack elsewhere - including the joints. These cells then create inflammation in the joints, and therefore joint pain. This can develop all the way into arthritis.”