Vitamin D supplements can ease the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, according to a new study HealthDay reported.
Researchers, led by Florian Wepner of Orthopedic Hospital Vienna Speising, discovered there is a link between a patient's vitamin D levels and the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. They found that Vitamin D reduce fibromyalgia pain.
Those with Fibromyalgia may experience sleep disorders, morning stiffness, poor concentration and occasionally mild-to-severe mental symptoms such as anxiety or depression. There is no cure for the syndrome.
For the study, researchers recruited 30 women with fibromyalgia who also had low levels of vitamin D. Some of the women took supplements for 25 weeks and then were tracked for another 24 weeks.
They saw that the participants who took the supplements reported less pain and morning fatigue over time than those who did not receive the supplements, HealthDay reported. However, there were no significant alterations in depression or anxiety symptoms.
"Fibromyalgia patients and those with chronic pain should certainly have their vitamin D blood levels checked and, if low, consider supplementation under the guidance of a physician," Dr. Kiran Patel, a pain medicine specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told HealthDay.
Based on their findings, researchers suggest that vitamin D levels be monitored regularly in patients with fibromyalgia, especially in the winter season.
Researchers added that Vitamin D supplements may be a cost-effective alternative or adjunct to other treatment.
"[Vitamin D] may be regarded as a relatively safe and economical treatment and an extremely cost-effective alternative or adjunct to expensive pharmacological treatment as well as physical, behavioral, and multimodal therapies," Wepner said in a press release.
Although they found an association between vitamin D and the easing of fibromyalgia pain, they did not prove a cause-and-effect link.
"[Fibromyalgia] is a very extensive symptom complex that cannot be explained by a vitamin D deficiency alone," Wepner said.
The study was published in the February issue of the journal Pain.