Chronic Pain and Vitamin D

Educational only — not medical advice.

Early Research on Vitamin D and Pain

Vitamin D deficiency may be an overlooked cause of ongoing, vague, or widespread muscle and joint pain. A study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that 93% of 150 people with unexplained musculoskeletal pain were low in vitamin D. The lowest levels were seen in women of child-bearing age, people under 30, and individuals of African, African-American, Hispanic, or Native American descent.¹

Chronic pain is common, and the economic impact is huge. A JAMA analysis estimated that untreated or poorly managed pain costs the U.S. more than $61 billion each year in lost productivity.² If low vitamin D plays even a small part in this problem, it may represent an easy factor to address.

Low vitamin D levels are also linked with osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers, multiple sclerosis, and pregnancy complications. In children, severe deficiency can lead to rickets.

Additional research has found the same pattern in people with chronic back pain. In a study from Saudi Arabia, every patient with long-standing back pain was vitamin D deficient. After three months of vitamin D supplementation, pain scores improved and vitamin D levels normalized.³

Newer Research Supports Earlier Findings

Newer studies continue to show a relationship between vitamin D levels and pain.
One study of 2,313 men found that those with the highest vitamin D levels (above 36 ng/mL) reported less chronic pain. Men with low levels (below 15.6 ng/mL) were far more likely to suffer from persistent pain.⁴

Other recent papers avoid claiming “cause,” but consistently show that low vitamin D is linked with more severe pain.⁵⁶ One controlled study even found that vitamin D supplementation improved the results of physical therapy in adults with musculoskeletal disorders.⁷