Vitamin Supplementation for Pain Relief: Does it Work?
- Pieta Ruck Keene
- Mar 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 31
In 2011 around 100 people living in Christchurch NZ were being studied to see if taking vitamins could help their ADHD. Then an earthquake flattened the city. My family and I visited six years later and Christchurch was still a series of shipping crate shops; buildings marked as not safe to enter; whole city blocks of rubble; and a very beautiful cardboard cathedral.
So. Back to 2011. These 100 people had endured an incomprehensible trauma. Not only had they lost their homes but their whole city was rubble. They also had to live with aftershocks for weeks after the “big one.” Surprisingly, their depression, anxiety, and stress responses; measured four weeks after the earthquake, were significantly lower than the control group. The researchers concluded that supplementation provided resilience to the stress of the earthquake and aftershocks. A month later, those who stayed on the supplements showed greater improvement in their scores than those who came off them.
Does that mean that taking supplements might also reduce pain? Yes. And no. We are walking eco systems. Like a rain forest we are affected by weather (emotions); by pollution levels (our environment); and by animal and plant population (balance). So. Once you can say that you are sleeping well; eating well; exercising regularly; surrounding yourself with wonderful people; managing stress; and feeling fulfilled in life; then vitamin supplementation might help.
And. B complex vitamins are a good place to start. They are well studied and are shown to protect our nerves. Vitamin B1 is an antioxidant, vitamin B6 balances nerve metabolism, and vitamin B12 maintains myelin sheaths. B vitamins also support the development of new cell structures. Nerve support is helpful for people living with persistent pain because their nervous system is set to sensitive.
Experimentation on lab rats has shown a “highly significant reduction of painful behaviours such as licking and flinching” using a Neurobion B-complex complex supplement before injecting the little guys with formalin. These researchers also observed a down regulation of pain messaging in the spinal cord. This reinforces the idea that B vitamins calm the nervous system.
Magnesium has been widely studied in both acute and chronic pain. Its main mechanism of action appears to be in not converting electrical pain messages into biochemical signals at the end of nerve cells. In technical speak this is described as: voltage-gated antagonist action at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The image below shows how essential magnesium is for all of our cellular processes. It also shows how our body is affected when we don't have enough of it.
Long term zinc supplementation has been shown to inhibit prostaglandin production. These are chemicals that are released as part of the inflammatory soup and trigger pain. It also up regulates antioxidant effects. As the image below illustrates, zinc is a mineral and we need the right amount to stay healthy. not too much. not too little.
The anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3s are thought to alleviate the low-grade inflammatory environment associated with chronic pain. They are pretty marvellous for lots of things as you can see from the image below.
Vitamin D is thought to play a vital role in protecting against chronic pain development and modulation. Many (small) studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is correlated with individuals with chronic pain. This image shows how essential it is to have enough vitamin D in your body.
Many (low quality) studies endorse ginger and turmeric for their pain lowering effects. They have both been found to reduce pain and improve function at a level comparable to taking anti inflammatory medications.
The image below illustrates the way that ginger’s bioactive compounds are thought to inhibit COX2 and LOX pathways, preventing arachidonic acid metabolism. This is how anti-inflammatory medications work. Taking ginger, however, doesn’t come with the risk of developing stomach ulcers.
Both of these “nutraceuticals” are thought to be safe taken alongside regular pain medications. The idea is that they provide additional pain relief benefits and a reduced dosage requirement for pills such as ibuprofen.
Those are the main supplements used for pain relief. I think it makes sense to take extra vitamins and minerals at times of high stress; when you have cold or flu; or when life is very busy. These points are often precursers to a pain flare. If we can fortify the nervous system when it is over loaded it makes sense to do it. Check with a doctor or pharmacist first just to make sure that they won't interact in a weird way with any other medications that you might be taking.
Good Luck
xx
P
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