How Fibromyalgia and Vitamin D Deficiency Are Linked?
The connection between fibromyalgia and vitamin D deficiency is gradually coming to a better understanding as more research studies are linking the muscular pain and weakness, experienced by fibromyalgia patients, to an insufficient intake or poor absorption of vitamin D in the body.
Several studies on both children and adult subjects have found that low levels of vitamin D in the body lead to unexplained bone and muscular pain. These findings have been received with excitement by health professionals because if the connection between fibromyalgia and vitamin D deficiency can be verified, the pain and weakness of patients suffering from fibromyalgia will be possible to treat with nutritional sources of vitamin D. However, this does not mean that fibromyalgia is simply a deficiency of vitamin D in the body; the latter is only a factor in developing or aggravating symptoms of fibromyalgia.
The Connection between Fibromyalgia and Vitamin D Deficiency
The observed improvement in the overall condition of fibromyalgia patients using vitamin D indicates a strong connection between the disease and the function of vitamin D in maintaining bone and muscular health. The role of vitamin D in contributing to the development of fibromyalgia is thought to be rooted in its metabolic function. Vitamin D helps in the synthesis of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the body.
The parathyroid hormone serves to extract phosphates, especially calcium phosphate, from the bones. Combined with other factors, a failure to extract adequate amounts of phosphates from bones can lead to fibromyalgia. In case of vitamin D deficiency, the body is depleted in parathyroid hormone and hence an abnormal retention of phosphates in the bones may initiate a march toward symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Sunlight, Fibromyalgia and Vitamin D Deficiency
One linking factor of significance in the connection between fibromyalgia and vitamin D deficiency is a person's exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D forms in the skin upon exposure to sunlight for about 15 to 30 minutes. Limited exposure to sunlight on account of climatic factors, lifestyle, skin color, or any other reason, can result in vitamin D deficiency in the body, even when a normal course of nutrition is followed.
Health experts are now approving the idea that small amounts of unprotected sun exposure can be health-friendly, especially for patients of fibromyalgia. Since this disease of muscular weakness and pain develops slowly over several years, it seems reasonable to reduce the use of sunscreen while out on a moderately bright day and change a completely sun-protected lifestyle.
