The truth is our lives changes drastically a little over 250 years with the industrial revolution. People migrated to cities and started working jobs that required them to be inside or out of the sun for the majority of the day. This recent shift in the way we live might explain the reports of widespread Vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D has been implicated in a whole host of disease processes. Unfortunately, there is little consensus on the actual implications this has and the best way to go about correcting. Supplementation seems promising but the simple solution is often the best. Get Outside!
While this may seem like a no brainer to some, for many it is difficult if not impossible to get outside. Many people have limitations to how much they can get outside due to work obligations, physical limitations, and time of year. Even if we do spend adequate time in the sun our absorption of Vitamin D is often hampered by clothes, medications, and latitude.
This has implications for patients who are suffering from chronic pain as well. Vitamin D is important for many processes in the body and thought to play a role in inflammation as well.
"The prevalence and clinical correlates identified in this pilot study provide the basis for the assertion that vitamin D inadequacy may represent an under-recognized source of nociception and impaired neuromuscular functioning among patients with chronic pain."
-Pain Medicine, Volume 9, Issue 8, November 2008
Remember there are multiple sources of Vitamin D including the sun, diary, mushrooms, and supplementation. A combination of spending more time outside, eating Vitamin D rich foods, and supplementation is probably the best way to ensure you have adequate levels of this important hormone.
Dr. David Satterfield, Chiropractor
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