Vitamin D deficiency is a very common condition, and it’s estimated to affict about 1 billion people worldwide. The most common cause is insufficient sunlight exposure, but there are many others, such as not getting enough of the vitamin in your diet, and the body’s inability to absorb or convert the vitamin because of disorders such as certain liver or kidney diseases. Vitamin D is actually a steroid that functions like a hormone; its main purpose is to facilitate the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. It also serves several systems throughout your body, including regulating mood and fighting disease. It is also present in the nerve cells called nociceptors, which are pain-sensing nerve cells.
You get the majority of Vitamin D from sun exposure, as there are only a few foods that supply enough to support your health needs. Foods that are sources of vitamin D include salmon, herring, and mackerel. You will find that some foods like bread or dairy products are fortified with vitamin D, and it’s also available in varying quantities in multivitamins. Your skin actually produces large amounts of Vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet B rays from sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to serious bone disorders if left untreated.
Diseases like rickets in children and osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults, can increase the chances of bone fractures, broken bones, and skeletal deformities. Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include being overweight, elderly, and dark complected, as well as low to no consumption of fish or milk. Also, living in a place where there’s a small amount of sunlight throughout the year, constantly using sunscreen when outdoors, or not getting enough sun by staying indoors.
1. Muscle Pain
It’s often difficult to determine the exact cause of muscle pain, but studies have shown a connection between vitamin D deficiency and chronic muscle pain. It’s thought to be due to stimulation of pain-sensing nerve cells in the muscles, that occur during interaction with the vitamin. Patients sometimes mistake bone aches for muscle pain, as they may be unfamiliar with the concept of achy bones.
Illnesses are also sometimes misdiagnosed, in cases where symptoms are vague or subtle and common to many different sicknesses. An example is fibromyalgia. Chronic muscle pain is a common symptom of fibromyalgia, as well as fatigue and sleeping problems. These are also symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Some patients may be mistakenly diagnosed with fibromyalgia when they actually have vitamin D deficiency. High doses of vitamin D are currently being used successfully to treat patients with low blood levels that are suffering with muscular pain.
2. Fatigue
Feeling tired and fatigued can be caused by vitamin D deficiency but it’s often missed, as fatigue and tiredness can be attributed to so many other conditions that are more easily identified. There have been studies done that have conclusively shown a link between fatigue and low blood levels of vitamin D. Some researchers think they are just closely related or just one of many factors. For instance, a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, osteomalacia, has muscle weakness among its common symptoms, and this symptom can in turn, lead to extreme tiredness. Cases of chronic fatigue can sometimes affect your quality of life. Energy levels can be impacted negatively even when blood levels aren’t extremely low. The consumption of vitamin D supplements may increase energy levels and resolve symptoms.
3. Muscle Weakness
Muscle weakness is a common symptom of low blood levels of vitamin D, and could appear as one of the first signs. This may be the case because vitamin D can be found in muscle cells after metabolization. This in turn yields energy for muscle contraction and other functions, used for things like preventing falls and performing a variety of bone-building exercises. So insufficient levels of the vitamin could possibly cause weakness in the muscles. In addition, this deficiency could increase the risk of falls and fractures. Muscle weakness can also be a sign of osteomalacia, a bone disorder caused by inadequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D. Supplemental vitamin D can be used in instances where weakness in the muscles is caused by a lack of vitamin D.
4. Back Pain
Vitamin D is a key part of maintaining bone health in a number of ways. The most significant being the facilitation of the body’s ability to absorb calcium. Many studies of large groups of patients have found a link between vitamin D deficiency and chronic lower back pain. People with vitamin D deficiency might experience pain in their lower back as a result, or it may be a contributing factor. Those with a deficiency had a higher probability of having back pain, including extreme pain that interfered with their daily activities. People with low blood levels were almost twice as likely to have joint pain in comparison to those in the normal range. As such, back pain can be a sign that you have inadequate levels of vitamin D in your blood.
5. Bone Pain
Pounding, aching bone pain can be a result of inadequate amounts of calcium reaching your framework of bone, and a sign of low blood levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is also a factor in the bone disorders called osteomalacia and osteoporosis, which both cause bone pain. Patients with the deficiency are nearly twice as likely to experience bone pain, compared to those without it. Vitamin D is an important part of maintaining bone health, particularly its job of improving your body’s absorption of calcium. It’s also probable that insufficient amounts of the vitamin could be a cause or contributing factor to bone pain.
6. Impaired Wound Healing
Vitamin D has direct interactions with the cells in the body that fight infections. As such, the function of keeping your immune system strong is one of its most important, as this is your body’s way to fight off viruses and bacteria that cause sickness. If you find that you are falling ill a lot more than usual, especially by contracting cold or flu germs, this may be a sign of low vitamin D levels. Poor wound healing following surgery, injury or infection, is another indication.
A large number of studies have demonstrated a connection between taking large dosages of vitamin D and a reduction in the risk of various infections and symptoms of disorders.
7. Bone Loss
Most people associate bone loss with age and not getting enough calcium, but vitamin D may play a role as well. This is because vitamin D plays a critical role in bone metabolism through its part in calcium absorption. Losing vital minerals as well as calcium from your bones will lessen the density and increase your risk of fractures, especially for older women. If you’re diagnosed with low bone mineral density, it may be a sign of vitamin D deficiency. Studies involving women that are going through or already experienced menopause, have also shown a strong link between the two. Getting adequate amounts of vitamin D might help to preserve bone mass and protect against fractures.
8. Hair Loss
Vitamin D deficiency may be a factor in female-pattern hair loss or loss of hair caused by the autoimmune condition alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is a condition that causes sufferers to lose their hair in patches, usually from the scalp. It’s also associated with Rickets. A study of patients with alopecia areata showed that those with lower amounts of vitamin D were more prone to more severe hair loss. In addition, some cases of hair loss have been treated successfully with a topical application of a synthetic form of the vitamin. The loss of hair, especially when severe, may be the result of low vitamin D levels.
