celiac + feet

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

Temporarily abandoning my lurker status, I have a question for the group. Is

anyone aware of connections between celiac disease and plantar fasciitis?

I was diagnosed with celiac 5+ years ago, and simultaneously with osteoporosis.

As a lifelong runner, I figured I'd get rid of the osteo by running (which

before the celiac diagnosis I thought would protect me anyway.) Two years ago,

I got plantar fasciitis first in one foot, then the next. At first I thought it

was because I was running more and using shoes that were supposed to be

equivalent to running barefoot. Belatedly I realized there's a reason people

invented shoes. But the problem was also how I hit the ground heel first.

I've been doing everything except surgery for the plantar fasciitis and still

have it. Now as I continue to worry about my bones dissolving, I'm beginning to

wonder if the two disorders are connected. From a brief Google search, I see

there there cane be a connection between celiac & peripheral neuropathy and in

some cases between peripheral neuropathy & plantar fasciitis.

Has anyone else had both of these conditions or heard about research that

connects them in any causal way?

Thanks!

Sharon Wood

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I have plantar faschiatis (which isn't much of a diagnosis, in terms of

clarifying the source--it just means your feet hurt). I don't have celiac (my

son does, which is why I'm on this list; I have the celiac gene and feel sick

when I eat wheat) but I have other autoimmune diseases. My foot pain was

attributed to " mixed connective tissue disorder " (another one of those

not-so-helpful diagnoses that just describe the pain) and fibromyalgia. When I

treated underlying issues (thyroid disease, wheat-free diet) the pain got 90%

better. This is because the other issues caused inflamation in my body. So, this

is a way of saying that in addition to addressing the trauma of your heel pain,

it's may be, since you already have one inflammatory autoimmune disease, that

you have related sources of inflammation that need to be addressed--that perhaps

the source of your pain is not actually in your feet, but in your system. Your

feet experienced trauma and so feel

what any part of your body might feel from overuse--when I was really ill, I

had acute pain in my wrists and shoulders from overuse, as well as in my feet.

I can't say if your situation is the same as mine, I just wanted to share my

experience to see if it resonated. If so, it may be that a doctor or other

practitioner who addresses the whole immune system could help.

Good luck!

Marci

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 8, 2010, at 10:12 AM, " swoodsf " <swoodsf@...> wrote:

Hello all,

Temporarily abandoning my lurker status, I have a question for the group. Is

anyone aware of connections between celiac disease and plantar fasciitis?

I was diagnosed with celiac 5+ years ago, and simultaneously with osteoporosis.

As a lifelong runner, I figured I'd get rid of the osteo by running (which

before the celiac diagnosis I thought would protect me anyway.) Two years ago,

I got plantar fasciitis first in one foot, then the next. At first I thought it

was because I was running more and using shoes that were supposed to be

equivalent to running barefoot. Belatedly I realized there's a reason people

invented shoes. But the problem was also how I hit the ground heel first.

I've been doing everything except surgery for the plantar fasciitis and still

have it. Now as I continue to worry about my bones dissolving, I'm beginning to

wonder if the two disorders are connected. From a brief Google search, I see

there there cane be a connection between celiac & peripheral neuropathy and in

some cases between peripheral neuropathy & plantar fasciitis.

Has anyone else had both of these conditions or heard about research that

connects them in any causal way?

Thanks!

Sharon Wood

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

I too have CD and plantar fasciitis. But I also have fibromyalgia and

lupus. I happen to be a physical therapist so have professional

knowledge of this condition. Plantar Fasciitis is often associated

with fibromyalgia and can co-exist with mixed connective tissue

diseases, and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis

and polymyalgia rheumatica. I have not heard of any specific

association with CD, but that would be an interesting study! That

being said, it's also incredibly common in people who don't have any

of these conditions, especially runners. It's often associated with

tightness of the Achilles tendon and other intrinsic muscles of the

feet. Having either flat feet or feet with an excessively high arch

are risk factors. High arched feet are also common in fibromyalgia,

maybe because the trigger points that develop everywhere in the body

can also be present in the feet and they shorten the muscle fibers.

Mine has been very severe, but has recently been helped tremendously

with well made orthotics, a round of physical therapy including

religious stretching and strengthening exercises of my feet (once the

inflammation was calmed down), and never EVER going barefoot (even

inside your house), wearing shoes without good arch support, or

wearing shoes with high heels that shorten the Achilles tendon.

Women, unfortunately get it much more than men. In the acute

inflammatory stages, it's really important to use ice several times a

day and rest. My P.T. also taped my feet to relieve the stress to the

plantar fascia until my orthotics were made. I used an ice bath,

starting with putting my feet in cold water out of the tap and

gradually adding ice cubes every few minutes for about 20 minutes

(several times a day) as my feet adjusted to the cold. Here's a

couple of links that have good descriptions. Sorry this is so long!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/plantar-fasciitis/DS00508

http://heelspurs.com/_intro.html