Older women who aren't getting enough vitamin D appear to be at risk for suffering from back pain, new research shows.
"Given that low vitamin D status is fairly prevalent in older adults and that there are significant functional consequences to untreated chronic pain, these findings argue strongly for querying adults about their pain and potentially screening older women with significant back pain for vitamin D deficiency," Dr. Gregory E. Hicks of the University of Delaware in Newark and his colleagues write.
Among older people, vitamin D deficiency has been tied to a number of health problems, including an increased risk of bone fracture, Hicks and colleagues note in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Lack of the vitamin could also, theoretically, contribute to musculoskeletal pain, they add, although research on vitamin D deficiency and pain syndromes has yielded mixed results.
To investigate the relationship, Hicks and his colleagues looked at blood levels of vitamin D in 958 people 65 and older. Fifty-eight percent of the women in the study, and 27 percent of the men, had at least some moderate pain in at least one region of the body.
For men, there was no relationship between vitamin D levels and pain. Women with vitamin D deficiency, on the other hand, were nearly twice as likely to have back pain that was moderate or worse, but vitamin D status wasn't related to pain in other parts of the body.
The gender- and back-specific effects of vitamin D found in the study could be because lack of the vitamin can cause osteomalacia, or bone softening, which is more common in women and often manifests itself as low back pain, the researchers say.
But before vitamin D supplementation can be widely recommended for treating back pain, they add, randomized controlled trials should be undertaken to determine if giving people the vitamin is indeed helpful.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, May 2008.
This makes me wonder if my DDD is related to chronic deficiency.
Lynn, a ??? Why a weekly dose of D, rather than daily? My doctor told me to take 1500 iu daily. With a level of 19, I wonder if this is enough and how long it will take me to get my level up to normal. She wants to retest me in 3 months.I don't really know...It would seem that a dose of 50,000IU weekly would get your D levels back up quicker. My dose was weekly and while it took awhile, my levels came back up to normal. I was tested monthly, but that may just of been because I do regular monthly bloodwork. ICan I get Vitamin D in this large of a dose OTC? Or is that a prescription?It was a prescription, I don't think you can find that big of a dose over the counter....My levels were 4 .. my endo gave me three successive months of calciferol D (I think) and a daily regimen of 1400.. I still try to remember to take all of the 1400.. I will be tested in end of June... we aren't sure if I have an absorption issue or not.I wanted to add that I had pains in addition to back pain when deficient. My shins if touched were extremely painful.. you know where the bone is closest to the skin?Babs, You're the first person that I've heard say something about shin pain.....I just thought it was me and I just realized that my shin pain has disappeared. I've been on D for several months and everything has improved, including the shin pain. Amazing. LindyLinB.. I wanted to make that point because I never heard anyone say it either.. but my endo touched my shins with her hands around each and asked if it hurt.. and damn! it did!!I wonder if that will eliminate the sudden sharp pains I get in my bones.Damn, I've got to get my Vit D level checked. I'm getting labwork done next week, but unfortunately I didn't know to ask about this at my last RD visit and I don't see him again til the week after the labs. Do you think I should call and see if he'll add it on? I don't want to be a pain-in-the-butt patient, but I don't want to wait forever if this is going to make a difference for me.I'd call and ask them to add it on. What have you got to lose. It definately made a difference for me as far as muscle pain and weakness.For men, there was no relationship between vitamin D levels and pain.
qouty thingy..
HE MEN...
[QUOTE=lorster]I wonder if that will eliminate the sudden sharp pains I get in my bones.[/QUOTE]