Musculoskeletal pain reduced with 4,000 IU of vitamin D – RCT April 2015

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study adding high dose vitamin D to analgesic regimens in patients with musculoskeletal pain

Lupus April 2015 vol. 24 no. 4-5 483-489, doi: 10.1177/0961203314558676
O Gendelman 1,2,*; D Itzhaki 2,3,*; S Makarov 2,4; M Bennun 2,4; H Amital 1,2⇑
1Department of Medicine ‘B', Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer
2Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
3Central Laboratory of Clalit Health Services, Tel-Aviv, Israel
4Department of Anesthesiology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel
NIHClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01417923
Howard Amital, Head of Department of Medicine ‘B’, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel 5262100. Emails: hamital at netvision.net.il; howard.amital at sheba.health.gov.il
↵* The first two authors have equally contributed to this paper.

Background The current mode of therapy for many patients with musculoskeletal pain is unsatisfactory.

Purpose We aimed to assess the impact of adding 4000 IU of vitamin D on pain and serological parameters in patients with musculoskeletal pain.

Materials and methods This was a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled study assessing the effect of 4000 IU of orally given vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) (four gel capsules of 1000 IU, (SupHerb, Israel) vs. placebo on different parameters of pain. Eighty patients were enrolled and therapy was given for 3 months. Parameters were scored at three time points: prior to intervention, at week 6 and week 12. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain perception were recorded following 6 and 12 weeks. We also measured serum levels of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by ELISA.

Results The group receiving vitamin D achieved a statistically significant larger decline of their VAS measurement throughout the study compared with the placebo group.

• The need for analgesic ‘rescue therapy’ was significantly lower among the vitamin D-treated group.
• TNFα levels decreased by 54.3% in the group treated with vitamin D and increased by 16.1% in the placebo group.
• PGE2 decreased by 39.2% in the group treated with vitamin D and increased by 16% in the placebo group.

LTB4 levels decreased in both groups by 24% (p < 0.05).

Conclusion Adding 4000 IU of vitamin D for patients with musculoskeletal pain may lead to a faster decline of consecutive VAS scores and to a decrease in the levels of inflammatory and pain-related cytokines.

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Many studies show the pain goes away within a week when vitamin D levels are quickly restored with loading doses
One pill every two weeks gives you all the vitamin D most adults need ~ 4,000 IU daily
Some people need for larger doses of vitamin D

See also VitaminDWiki

• Lupus category listing has 78 items along with related searches
• Pain - chronic category listing has 168 items along with related searches
• Pain reduced when enough vitamin D was given – review March 2015
• 7 improvements in lives of veterans with chronic pain with 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly – June 2012
• High dose vitamin reduced pain of fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis - July 2015
• Overview Pain and Vitamin D
• Chronic Hives treated by Vitamin D - many studies
• Proof that Vitamin D Works study on this page is item #53
  - several other randomized controlled trials also reduce pain
• Fibromyalgia pain reduced with vitamin D intervention that achieved 30-48 ng – RCT Feb 2014 has a visual analog scale for pain