Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Sep 7;8(1):73.
doi: 10.1186/s40634-021-00393-4.

The effects of vitamin D supplementation in carpal tunnel syndrome treatment outcomes: a systematic review

Chirathit Anusitviwat  1 , Porames Suwanno  1 , Sitthiphong Suwannaphisit  2
Affiliations
Review

The effects of vitamin D supplementation in carpal tunnel syndrome treatment outcomes: a systematic review

Chirathit Anusitviwat et al. J Exp Orthop. .

Abstract

Purpose: Vitamin D deficiency is related to carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Correcting vitamin D levels by supplementation was supposed to improve carpel tunnel symptoms, though there is a lack of aggregated data about treatment outcomes. This study aimed to examine whether vitamin D supplementation could improve the treatment outcomes in carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

Methods: A comprehensive search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for articles on vitamin D and carpel tunnel syndrome from January 2000 to March 2021 was performed. The article screening and data extraction were performed by two investigators independently with blinding to decisions on selected studies. All included studies had assessed the quality of evidence using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) scoring system.

Results: We retrieved four studies that met the eligibility criteria. The treatment outcomes were evaluated by visual analog scale (124 wrists), functional scores (176 patients), muscle strength (84 patients), and nerve conduction velocity (216 wrists). After vitamin D supplementation, two studies reported improved pain scores and nerve conduction velocity, and three studies showed enhancement of functional status.

Conclusion: Vitamin D administration could offer favorable outcomes in pain improvement, better functional status, and increased sensory conduction velocity in carpal tunnel syndrome. However, there is to date no recommendations concerning a standardized dose or duration of vitamin D administration in carpal tunnel syndrome; prescribing vitamin D at the usual appropriate dose is suggested as an additional treatment in patients with mild to moderate carpel tunnel symptoms.

Level of evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study.

Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Outcome; Supplementation; Vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The flowchart of study selection following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aroori S, Spence RAJ. Carpal tunnel syndrome. Ulster Med J. 2008;77:6–17. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Atroshi I, Gummesson C, Johnsson R, Ornstein E, Ranstam J, Rosén I. Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. JAMA. 1999;282:153–158. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.2.153. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Baker NA, Livengood HM. Symptom severity and conservative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome in association with eventual carpal tunnel release. J Hand Surg Am. 2014;39:1792–1798. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2014.04.034. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Basit A, Basit KA, Fawwad A, Shaheen F, Fatima N, Petropoulos IN, Alam U, Malik RA (2016) Vitamin D for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care 4 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burton CL, Chen Y, Chesterton LS, van der Windt DA (2018) Trends in the prevalence, incidence and surgical management of carpal tunnel syndrome between 1993 and 2013: an observational analysis of UK primary care records. BMJ Open Brit Med J 8 - PMC - PubMed