“"Your posture is off". "Your core muscles are too weak". "I think a few injections would help". "You might want to consider surgery".
These are daily statements that come out of the mouths of health care professionals to many of the 60 million Americans who live with lower back pain.
A recent slew of scientific research suggests that lower back pain suffers should instead be hearing: "Have you had your vitamin D checked recently?"
Vitamin D - Yet Another Relationship to Health
Once thought only to help build strong bones, a decade of intensive research now indicates that Vitamin D’s role in the body is vast. From heart health, diabetes prevention, and now back pain, Vitamin D is not only one of the most important nutrients, but one of the most important indicators of long-term health.
Alarmingly, Vitamin D deficiency is very common. As legendary Vitamin D researcher Michael Holick proclaimed: "Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the United States". The Vitamin D epidemic is not limited to the United States-over 1 billion people worldwide are Vitamin D deficient. That’s more than the number of people living with AIDS, Diabetes, Hepatitis C, Measles, and Cystic Fibrosis-combined.
Vitamin D Deficiency Is Contributing to the Lower Back Pain Epidemic
Although Vitamin D deficiency is common, it’s nothing compared to lower back pain. 80-85% of people worldwide are estimated to experience lower back pain in their life. There are numerous factors that contribute to these astonishing rates of lower back pain but it appears that Vitamin D may be a very important and underappreciated one.
A recent study published in the scholarly journal Spine recruited 350 people suffering from chronic lower back pain. 83% of the group had vitamin D deficiency, which is a much higher rate than the general population. This relationship was more than simply an association. Remarkably, 100% of the vitamin D deficient subjects saw a clinical improvement in their lower back pain when given adequate vitamin D. The researchers concluded: "Vitamin D deficiency is a major contributor to chronic low back pain…" and that: "Screening for vitamin D deficiency should be performed for all patients, especially those with chronic low back pain."
The results from this study have been mirrored in other clinical trials. Sadly, very few patients receive vitamin D screenings and instead get the usual barrage of ineffective treatments.
How Can Vitamin D Deficiency Contribute to Lower Back Pain?
Researchers still haven’t figured out exactly how vitamin D may influence lower back pain, but here is what the current science suggests:
Enhanced Nerve Functioning - Like any cells in your body, nerve cells continuously die and regenerate. This process runs smoothly only when adequate vitamin D is present. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that Vitamin D supplements helped those with nerve pain-thus showing that Vitamin D’s effect on nerves is clinically relevant.
Reduced Inflammation - Inflammation exacerbates pain, impairs healing, and causes further structural damage to the back. Vitamin D deficient people have much higher levels of inflammatory markers then those that get enough Vitamin D. Adequate vitamin D decreases this inflammation and has been shown to alleviate lower back pain.
Increased Muscle Strength - As any physical therapist will tell you, strong core muscles help support the spine and reduce pain. It is now known that vitamin D deficiency makes muscles weaker and that Vitamin D repletion boosts muscle strength-your core muscles being no exception.
"D"-stroy Lower Back Pain
The research is clear: vitamin D is a strong player in the back pain game. Once identified, Vitamin D deficiency is tremendously safe and easy to treat. This is especially so when compared to other common back pain treatments such as chiropractic adjustments and surgery. As if you needed another reason to take your vitamin D: you’ll be fighting two epidemics at once.
About the Author
Brian Dean MS, RD is a registered dietitian and researcher. After years of research, Brian has set his sights on helping those with lower back pain. He serves on the Medical Nutrition Committee for The American Society for Nutrition and is a professional member of numerous research organizations including the International Association for The Study of Pain, American Chronic Pain Society, and The American Dietetic Association. He recently created a research-based lower back pain treatment program , ‘The Back Pain Diet’ which is available from his website Stop Lower Back Pain.
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