Vitamin D Supplementation May Provide Pain Relief for Vitamin D-deficient Patients

High-dose vitamin D supplementation may have a positive effect on persistent musculoskeletal pain among vitamin D-deficient patients.

A small study of 84 non-Western immigrants in Western Europe, a population prone to vitamin D deficiency and musculoskeletal problems, revealed a small positive effect on pain six weeks after supplementation with 150,000 IU of Vitamin D3 on vitamin D-deficient patients.

Specifically, patients randomized to receive vitamin D supplementation were significantly more likely than those in a control group to report pain relief six weeks after treatment (35 percent vs. 20 percent). The former were also more likely to report an improved ability to walk stairs (21 percent vs. 8 percent).

In a nonsignificant trend, patients receiving vitamin D over 12 weeks were more likely to report an improvement than patients receiving it over six weeks. The authors call for future investigation involving greater numbers of participants with longer follow-up and higher doses.