Pain Management and Vitamin D

Many people, both young and old, are afflicted by chronic pain. Causes of chronic pain include past trauma or injury, illnesses like diabetes, shingles, cancer and other pain inducing diseases. There are several instances too that chronic pain can not be identified or traced to a particular cause. It is also possible for chronic pain to be caused by several things or by a combination of these things. The cause could be anything which is why researchers are continuously trying to find other possible factors that might be linked with chronic pain. By identifying more factors, chronic pain treatment may become more specific and accurate and pain management would become less complicated. The trouble with not knowing the possible or exact cause of chronic pain is that the pain remedy only works to relieve the pain itself. Since the underlying cause is not identified, chances are, the pain will keep on coming back.

Some studies show that there is a possibility that extremely low levels of Vitamin D may cause chronic pain. Several persons suffering from unexplained chronic pain whose symptoms were general were tested for Vitamin D levels. Results showed that all of them had very low to negligible levels of Vitamin D. When their Vitamin D levels were restored to normal levels, their chronic pain symptoms subsided.

There are also some researches which confirm that persons who have low levels of Vitamin D require larger doses of pain medication than persons who have normal levels of Vitamin D.

So what is it about Vitamin D that tends to affect or cause the perception of pain? It must be kept in mind that Vitamin D is not really a vitamin but is actually a hormone which is naturally produced by the body.

Vitamin D receptors are present in almost all cells in virtually all the parts of the body. Though there is no conclusive finding yet that low levels of Vitamin D can cause chronic pain, it wouldn’t hurt to consider it and ask your pain management specialist about it. If you are suffering from chronic pain, one option would be to find out if your Vitamin D level is adequate. If it is not, you can ask your pain management specialist to increase your Vitamin D to an acceptable level. There is nothing to lose and there is no harm in exploring this possibility. If it is proven that your chronic pain can be remedied by restoring your Vitamin D levels to normal, then your days of suffering are over. Not only will your pain management be much more inexpensive but, more importantly, you will be spared from the numerous side effects that pain medication can cause.

If your Vitamin D levels are normal, do not attempt to take in more Vitamin D. Take note that Vitamin D deficiency might be a cause of chronic pain but Vitamin D is definitely not a cure for chronic pain. Raising Vitamin D to above normal levels can lead to calcification and may cause formation of kidney stones.

Seomul Evans is a senior Marketing Services consultant and Health care Marketing