Can Insufficient Vitamin D Cause Pain?

It clearly can. One study showed that 93% of persons 10-65 years of age who were admitted to a hospital emergency department with muscle aches and bone pain–and who had a wide variety of diagnoses, including Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression, were deficient in vitamin D.¹A second study confirmed a strong correlation between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels in the blood and higher rates and longer duration of generalized bone and/or muscle aches and pains.² A third study looked at chronic pain patients at a tertiary care pain clinic. They documented that those patients with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels </=20 ng/mL used almost twice as much morphine, were on opioid medications almost twice as long and generally were in more pain then those with higher vitamin D levels.³ Understanding the what led to, what triggered and what’s perpetuating pain is one of the most important things a clinician can do to help their patients. That’s one of the reasons I have put together so many exciting programs.

Click Here to learn about those programs

1. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. Jul 19 2007;357(3):266-281.

2. Erkal MZ, Wilde J, Bilgin Y, et al. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, secondary hyperparathyroidism and generalized bone pain in Turkish immigrants in Germany: identification of risk factors. Osteoporos Int. 2006;17(8):1133-1140.

3. Turner MK, Hooten WM, Schmidt JE, Kerkvliet JL, Townsend CO, Bruce BK. Prevalence and Clinical Correlates of Vitamin D Inadequacy among Patients with Chronic Pain. Pain Med. Mar 11 2008.

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