Can Vitamin D Help Women with Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain in women is a medical condition that’s poorly addressed and even more poorly understood although it affects a significant number of women. Previous research and treatments have centered around the psychosocial issues that might contribute to chronic pain and its possible association with depression. Despite this, a satisfying treatment for chronic pain in women has not been forthcoming. A recent study that addresses the issue of vitamin D deficiency and pain may shed some light on this common and frustrating condition. Could a vitamin D deficiency be associated with chronic pain in women?

The most recent study looked at 9300 subjects in England, Scotland, and Wales, some of whom had chronic widespread pain. The participants had levels of vitamin D measured in their bloodstream in an attempt to correlate vitamin D levels with the degree of pain experienced. When this data was made available to the researchers, it was found that the lowest levels of chronic widespread pain were seen in women with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood. Interestingly, this association was seen only in women, not in men who didn’t seem to show an association between vitamin D deficiency and pain.

Why did the researchers find an association between vitamin D deficiency and pain in women but not in men? Although the answer isn’t clear, it may be related to the different hormonal status of women compared to men. Vitamin D may exert some role on the regulation of estrogen levels which may have an indirect effect on pain perception. Additional research will be needed to clarify this issue.

Although the results of this study suggest an association between vitamin D deficiency and pain, more research will be needed before vitamin D supplementation can be recommended for treatment of chronic pain in women. It’s interesting to note that the greatest symptom relief was seen at levels of vitamin D that are higher than those recommended for maintaining healthy bones. As of yet, it’s still unclear how much vitamin D is safe to take as a supplement on a daily basis.

If you’re female and you suffer from chronic pain symptoms should you take vitamin D supplements? First, the issue of what’s causing the pain should be addressed by a doctor. If no obvious cause is found, it would still be premature to recommend supplementation with vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin meaning that it can build up in the body when taken in high quantities. A more reasonable approach might be to increase vitamin D levels naturally by spending ten to fifteen minutes in direct sunlight each day. Another approach is to increase intake of fatty fish such as salmon which is also a good source of this potentially pain relieving vitamin. If further studies support an association between vitamin D deficiency and pain, hopefully, guidelines for supplementing with vitamin D will be established and this treatment can be more universally recommended.