Low Vitamin D Can Increase Fibromyalgia Pain and Balance Problems

by Joana Fernandes, PhD

 

 

If you have fibromyalgia (FM), you might want to make sure you get ample amounts of vitamin D. Why? A newly published study shows that people with fibromyalgia and low levels of vitamin D have significantly more balance problems and pain.

Turkish researchers published a study titled, “The Relationship Between Balance And Vitamin 25(OH)D In Fibromyalgia Patients” in the journal Modern Rheumatology, which endeavored to investigate the relationship between vitamin 25(OH)D levels and pain, balance and daily activities in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

The study included people aged 35 to 65 years of age who had been diagnosed with FM (N=70) and a healthy control group (N=60) that was matched by age and gender. They used the fibromyalgia impact scale (FIQ), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and visual analog scale (VAS) to measure their findings. The participants were divided into two groups by vitamin D level being above or below 30 ng/ml.

A statistically significant difference was shown between VAS, BBS value, as well as all NHP subscale and NHP total values of FMS patients and those of healthy control group. The relationship between BBS and the level of vitamin 25(OH)D of all participants was investigated, a positive statistically significant relationship was found with Vit-D at r = 0.481 level (p < 0.05).

“The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between FMS patients with low and those with normal levels by pain and balance tested with BBS,” the authors wrote. A positive significant correlation was established between balance and [vitamin D],” the authors wrote.

The study concluded, “It was observed that low vitamin D levels affected balance in both FMS group and healthy control group. It should be kept in mind that vitamin D level is likely to negatively affect balance and VAS values in FMS.”

Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic pain disorder that can cause widespread musculoskeletal pain along with fatigue, sleep, memory and mood problems. It is believed that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way the brain processes pain signals.

Source of the study: nationalpainreport.com