Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Pain Physician. 2016 Sep-Oct;19(7):415-427.
Wu Z1, Malihi Z1, Stewart AW1, Lawes CM1, Scragg R1.
1University of Auckland Epidemiology and Biostatistics New Zealand.
This meta-analysis averaged the benefits over a wide range of dose sizes
Most likely they would have found far more benefit it they had ignored trials using < 2,500 IU of vitamin D
- Pain reduced when enough vitamin D was given – review March 2015
- Knee osteoarthritis treated with vitamin D, weekly 50,000 IU – May 2015
- Fibromyalgia helped by Vitamin D – still not sure how much, and why - June 2016
Pages listed in BOTH the categories Meta-analysis and Pain
- Widespread pain, arthritis pain and muscle pain are associated with low vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2018
- Chronic widespread pain reduced a bit by vitamin D ignored dose sizes - meta-analysis Aug 2017
- Chronic Pain reported 38 percent less often if supplemented with Vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2016
- Chronic Widespread Pain associated with Vitamin D under 10 ng – meta-analysis Oct 2015
- Does vitamin D treat pain – still not absolutely, positively sure – meta-analysis April 2015
Pain - chronic category has the following
See also
- Overview Pain and Vitamin D
- Percentage of people with pain increased 25 percent in 18 years – Jan 2019
- Pain not reduced by 60,000 IU monthly vitamin D (need 50,000 IU weekly) – RCT Aug 2023
- Overview Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue and vitamin D
- Overview Rheumatoid Arthritis and vitamin D
- Shingles and vitamin D
- Shin splints decrease with vitamin D
- Migraine and Vitamin D
- Headache category
79 items - "musculoskeletal pain" 490 items as of Aug 2023
- "chronic fatigue" 185 items as of Jan 2017
- Category Back Pain
42 items - 7 pain studies in VitaminDWiki with KNEE in the title as of Aug 2023 (see below)
- Opioid OR Opiate OR Morphine in the title 10 pages as of June 2021
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence from previous qualitative reviews on the effect of vitamin D supplementation on pain.
OBJECTIVE: To determine with quantitative methods if vitamin D supplementation lowers pain levels.
STUDY DESIGN: Quantitative meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
SETTING: This meta-analysis examined all studies involving the effect of vitamin D supplementation on pain score.
METHOD: Electronic sources (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, clinical trials website, and Google scholar) were systematically searched for RCTs of vitamin D supplementation and pain from inception of each database to October 2015.
RESULTS:
Nineteen RCTs with 3,436 participants (1,780 on vitamin D supplementation and 1,656 on placebo) were included in the meta-analysis. For the primary outcome (mean change in pain score from baseline to final follow-up), 8 trials with 1,222 participants on vitamin D and 1,235 on placebo reported a significantly greater mean decrease in pain score for the vitamin D group compared to placebo (mean difference -0.57, 95% CI: -1.00 to -0.15, P = 0.007).
The effect from vitamin D was greater in patients recruited with pre-existing pain (P-value for interaction = 0.03).
Fourteen studies (1,548 on vitamin D, 1,430 on placebo) reported the mean pain score at final follow-up outcome, and no statistical difference was observed (mean difference -0.06, 95%CI: -0.44 to 0.33, P = 0.78).
In 4 studies which reported pain improvement (209 on vitamin D, 146 on placebo), the effect size although not significant, shows participants in the vitamin D supplementation group were more likely to report pain improvement compared with the placebo group (relative risk 1.38, 95%CI: 0.93 to 2.05, P = 0.11).LIMITATIONS: Only a few studies reported the mean score change from baseline to final follow-up, and we do not have enough data to determine any modifying effect of baseline vitamin D status and different doses of vitamin D supplementation on pain.
CONCLUSION: A significantly greater mean decrease in pain score (primary outcome) was observed with vitamin D supplementation compared with placebo in people with chronic pain. These results suggest that vitamin D supplementation could have a role in the management of chronic pain.
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