Vitamin D in pain management

Helde-Frankling and Björkhem-Bergman (2017) review the current evidence for the possible role of vitamin D in nociceptive and inflammatory pain. Observational studies have associated low levels of vitamin D with increased pain and higher opioid doses, while recent interventional studies have shown the promise of supplementation of this vitamin in cancer pain and muscular pain (when vitamin D levels are “insufficient” before intervention). The writers propose possible mechanisms for vitamin D in pain management including the anti-inflammatory effects mediated by cytokine and prostaglandin release. It is also suggested that patients with deficient levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-OHD] levels 50nmol/L would likely gain little from this vitamin D boost. The conclusion is that vitamin D may constitute a safe, simple and potentially beneficial way to reduce pain among patients with vitamin D deficiency, but that more randomized and placebo-controlled studies are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn. [NPID: pain, vitamin D, inflammation, vitamin D, muscular pain, anti-inflammatory, cytokine]

Year: 2017

Reference: Helde-Frankling, M., & Björkhem-Bergman, L. (2017). Vitamin D in Pain Management. International journal of molecular sciences, 18(10), 2170. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18102170