Association of vitamin d deficiency with carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is defined when serum 25(OH)D concentration is less than 25 ng/ml; it is associated with many painful syndromes, such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). CTS is a common entrapment neuropathy that is caused by compression of the median nerve at the wrist joint. We sought to describe the relationship between CTS and vitamin D deficiency, as well as the effect of vitamin D therapy on decreasing the severity of CTS-associated pain. We selected 32 out of 44 patients who presented with CTS at our hospital in Najaf province, Iraq. We then clinically assessed the severity of pain using the visual analog score (VAS) and an electromyography/nerve conduction study (EMG/NCS). We tested all patients for serum vitamin D levels before and after 3 months of vitamin D therapy. CTS was most common in females aged 40 to 49 years who were righthand dominant. There was a significant relationship between vitamin D deficiency and pain score before and after treatment with vitamin D. The increased level of vitamin D, the lower the pain score. Thus, there is a clear link between vitamin D therapy and improvement of clinical symptoms in patients with CTS.