Missing Micronutrients Might Be The Link To Chronic Pain In The Body, Says New Study

Chronic pain is a major public health issue. It’s linked to poor quality of life, mental health struggles, and overuse of pain medications like opioids. A new study from the University of Arizona Health Sciences in the US has found that people who don’t get enough key vitamins and minerals i.e. micronutrients may be more likely to suffer from chronic pain. The research was recently published in the medical journal Pain Practice.

What are Micronutrients?

Micronutrients are essential vitamins and minerals your body needs in small amounts to stay healthy. These include things like vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin C, folate (a type of vitamin B), and magnesium. Even though you only need tiny amounts of them, they play a big role in your immune system, brain function, energy levels, and even how you feel pain. You usually get them from food: vegetables, fruits, dairy, nuts, meat, and whole grains.

What Did the Study Find?

This is the first large-scale study to use what's called a “precision medicine” approach to chronic pain. That means researchers looked at individual differences in nutrition, biology, and demographics to understand why some people suffer from chronic pain while others don’t. They studied the vitamin and mineral levels of thousands of people — some with no pain, some with mild or moderate chronic pain, and others with severe chronic pain.

The team found that people with very low levels of vitamin D, B12, folate, and magnesium were more likely to suffer from severe chronic pain. These same deficiencies were also more common in people with chronic pain than in those without. In short, the lower your micronutrient levels, the higher your risk of long-lasting pain. For vitamin C, the results were a bit different. Men with chronic pain (whether mild or severe) were more likely to have low or borderline-low levels of vitamin C compared to men without chronic pain.

Surprising Differences

One unexpected finding was about vitamin B12. In general, B12 deficiency was linked to more pain. But among Asian women with severe chronic pain, vitamin B12 levels were actually higher than expected. This is unusual, and researchers say more studies are needed to understand why this group had higher B12 levels, even though they had chronic pain.

This finding highlights something important: when it comes to health, one size doesn’t fit all. Race, gender, ethnicity, and other personal factors may affect how our bodies process vitamins and minerals.

Dr. Julie Pilitsis, one of the study’s lead researchers, says many patients with chronic pain don’t have a clear diagnosis. “Just because there isn’t a surgery or obvious reason doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real,” she says. “This study helps us look at the whole person and think about things we can change easily — like nutrition — instead of jumping straight to medications or invasive treatments.”

Co-author Dr. Deborah Morris agrees. “Our goal is to improve people’s quality of life and reduce their dependence on opioids,” she says. “If improving vitamin and mineral intake can help reduce pain, that’s a big win.”

What’s Next?

The study used health data from the NIH All of Us Research Program, one of the largest health databases in the world. Researchers say their findings open the door to personalized nutritional plans for people with chronic pain. If you suffer from chronic pain, talk to your doctor. Ask if they can check your vitamin and mineral levels. A simple blood test can reveal if you’re low in any key nutrients — and from there, you can build a plan that includes more nutrient-rich foods or doctor-approved supplements.

A growing body of research shows that your diet and nutrition can influence much more than your weight or energy levels. This study adds to the evidence that low levels of vitamins and minerals may play a role in how much pain you feel — especially over long periods. If we pay more attention to what we’re feeding our bodies, we may find new ways to manage pain that don’t rely only on medication.

Source:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/papr.70053

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