Come in if you suffer from joint pain

macchiatto

I know a number of us have experienced relief from joint pain on LCHF. Have any of you found you had food triggers even among "LCHF-friendly" foods? I've been eating keto for the most part since Nov '15. It cleared up my joint pain but recently it's back. I did eat more carbs in Dec but have been back on track for a little over a week now and the knee pain is pretty bad. I might experiment with eliminating foods one at a time to see if it makes a difference but wondering what others of you may have found helpful in this regard.
Thanks!

KetoLady86

I have psoriatic arthritis...keto has helped tremendously.

Foamroller

Sorry can't really help you. I'm lowercarb since 2014 and knee pain is gone. But physiotherapist says I got hypermobility in joints. So my elbows and shoulders hurt often. Apparently hypermobility is one of the symptoms of IR. I wonder what that's about? Maybe blood sugar spikes or elevated BS is somehow related to the proteins that makes connective tissue? She also says I have to do more strength training to prevent more injuries. Double sigh.

KnitOrMiss

I have barely existent remaining cartilage, so I'm not getting much relief overall. My wrist pain and knee pains are different from each other. My knee pain was lessened majorly using hyaluronic acid supplements (do NOT use with RA), but it worsened my wrist pain, likely from the closed channel in which the tendon moves. I use pain magnet bracelets for my wrist, Salon Pas patches and a patella pressure thing on my knee, inserts in my shoes, and still...

I haven't been keto in a while now, and I have found some random flares here and there, but nothing major changed. The radiating pain internally from the bones, I haven't noticed since I added zinc to my supplements. Could easily be though still there, as it didn't surface all the time.

Looking forward to suggestions.

I have added Ashwaganda to my supplements lately...and I've switched up my fish oil, which can aggravate inflammation for some, so I'm still playing with it all.

My wrist pain is related to a partial finger amputation as a young child and crafting strain related to that injury (they call it some form of tendonitis, but not sure).

My knee pain is a combination of injury, overuse, extended morbid obesity, etc. Last trip to the ortho said that nearly all my joints are blown, but I don't have RA (negative tests) and no other major AI suggestions.

@macchiatto - maybe an autoimmune elimination protocol?

anglyn1

I have RA and keto has helped my joint pain. Lately I have had weird worsening elbow pain. Not sure if it's food related or weather. Cold/damp here. I have not noticed any particular food aside from artificial sweeteners that directly cause a flare. It seems too many carbs from any source make things a little worse. I'm trying to find the perfect carb level for weight maintenance and joint relief.

Also wanted to add it could be a natural progression of RA which maybe can't be helped. I know my rheumatologist seemed surprised that I'm still maintaining with just one pretty mild drug.

Patti2008

I definitely correlate foods with worse pain. I am keeping a food diary tracking foods and symptoms. I have had to eliminate all dairy (sob!). It looks like almonds set me off and possibly tomatoes.

macchiatto

Thanks so much for the replies!
My doctor actually tested me for RA last spring and whatever test she did was negative.
I do have MS, not sure if that's contributing to the joint pain.
Cold and wet weather does seem to make it worse, but last winter I fared well despite that weather.

Keeping a diary and/or trying an autoimmune elimination protocol sound like good ideas. Thanks!

I am wondering if it might be dairy and/or nuts. I've eaten a lot of both lately.

DietPrada

I have RA mainly in my right hip. I can still do most things but I feel the pain afterwards (like when we were away over the holidays and did lots of trail walking). Keto, sadly, has not helped at all.

805_blondie

I suffer from chronic back pain, knee pain, and sciatica. I ended up with my pain issues from a mixture of being a waitress, bartender and an abusive relationship. My pain improved tremendously with Keto and I actually was able to get off my pain meds. Since I basically fell off the wagon 3 weeks ago, got back on and fell off again, my pain is back especially the sciatica. Ugh! I can't wait to get back on the wagon on Monday when we get back from visiting my dad.

crunchketo

I've been reading that nightshades (tomatoes etc) can cause inflammation. Tracking your pain level with your food log could help you find a culprit. I want to try cold laser therapy for knee pain, it sounds promising!

nvmomketo

I have autoimmune arthralgias. They are better with LCHF and keto. Avoiding gluten is my biggest thing (celiac). My flare-ups are pretty mild now. It only lasts a few days and it isn't anywhere near as severe as it was in the past (when I was an undiagnosed celiac).

I was tested for RA and lupus and my blood work was negative.

I do have what appears to be a galloping osetoarthritis in my hip. It started about 3 years ago and I am to the point where I feel it most of the time. I can't even lay flat on my back anymore because of it.

Keto appears to have done nothing for it, unless it would have become even worse faster... I have a hard time believing that could be though. Anyways, I think it will be pretty immobile within a few more years. Crazy because I've had mild OA in my knees for decades and it is progressing at a reasonable slow pace. The hip though? I have a hard time believing it isn't AI related sometimes because it is going so quick and it is not injury related.

kimberwolf71

November through January seems to be a time of extreme flare ups for many with autoimmune. I'm trying to convince my friends (T1D and lyme) to journal sleep, temperature, and barometric pressure because both of them experience huge increases in symptoms the same time every year...

Carnivorekat

I have back pain and stomach pain - so not quite joint pain, but I do notice certain foods make things worse - I know carbs definitely make things worse and also certain veggies too - am in the process of trying to identify which ones I need to avoid

macchiatto

kimberwolf71 wrote: »

November through January seems to be a time of extreme flare ups for many with autoimmune. I'm trying to convince my friends (T1D and lyme) to journal sleep, temperature, and barometric pressure because both of them experience huge increases in symptoms the same time every year...

Interesting! Thank you for that insight!

KnitOrMiss

@kimberwolf71 - I wonder how much of that has to do with the traditional change of season food consumption, too. Are nightshades or other autoimmune foods more common in winter months?

cedarsidefarm

When I first went on a below 50 g total carbs diet, the pain and swelling in my ankles, hip and wrist went away. I have injuries to my hip and ankles so I was surprised that the swelling and pain went away there. But lately the pain in my wrist and sometimes in one of my ankles has been coming back. I have been overdoing it with the carbs since Thanksgiving and only recently have I got back on track and the pain in my wrists and the swelling did decrease but did not go away like the first time.

I think it is due to hidden aspartame artificial sweetener. I went off my 3 glasses of diet coke a day habit when I went on low carb. Then one day I thought I would reward myself for losing 15 lbs and I had 3 diet cokes. The next morning I could barely walk. I ached all over as if I had done strenuous exercise without a warm up. And the pain in my joints was really terrible. It gradually faded throughout the day and by the next morning, I was back to no pain. But now and then I still get minor pain and swelling in my wrists and one ankle and I think it is due to aspartame in my sugar free gum and sugar free syrup and sugar free cookies I thought had no aspartame. So far every time I've had pain, I've been able to trace it to over doing it on the carbs or aspartame hidden in my food.

Anyway, it may be an artificial sweetener that is making your joints ache. Try going without for 2 weeks and see what happens. I've decided to ditch the artificial sweeteners unless I'm having a huge craving and then I'm careful about the sugar alcohols I use.

macchiatto

@cedarsidefarm thanks for the insights. That sounds worth trying! I have been using the artificial sweeteners for a long time but may have developed a sensitivity over time.

amylferguson92

I have only just started low carb about a week ago but I have noticed my back pain is lessening a little each day. I have OA of the facet joints in my spine. I have also found weightlifting helps so much with the pain.