Aches and pains and Vitamin D……Don’t be in the dark!

sun

In case you haven’t noticed it’s winter! Other than the cold weather, which some like and some don’t, we find ourselves with an issue that is less obvious, and that’s a lack of sunlight.

Many of us get up nice and early in the morning (when it’s still dark), commute to work using various forms of transport, sit in an office all day and then head home, in the dark! Some of us may not see the sunlight for more than a few minutes if at all on an average day.

Why could this be a problem?

One major result of a lack of sunlight can be a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is very important to us as it helps with the absorption of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium in our guts. Unfortunately the types of vitamin D we require aren’t found in abundance in foods and are only really created by our skin being exposed to UVB rays from the sun.

In our Cobham clinic we see patients through out winter who may present with signs of vitamin D deficiency and not realise it. These signs include; tiredness, general aches and pains, more frequent infections and in severe cases bone pain and difficulty getting around.

As osteopaths we offer our patients longer appointment times than your GP may be able to. This gives us the opportunity to ask more questions that may make us suspicious of a vitamin deficiency. It’s common for people to assume physical pain or discomfort is only linked to musculoskeletal issues.

Although osteopaths can’t directly treat vitamin D deficiencies we can offer advice regarding lifestyle and exercise and also when necessary refer you back to your GP for further investigation. Vitamin deficiencies are normally diagnosed with a simple blood test.

Please get in contact with us at Four Health Osteopathy via email – info@fourhealth.co.uk or give us a call on 07932 022503 for more info and advice.