Holistic Practice: How Vitamin D Can Play a Role in Chronic Pain Management

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Nursing Practice
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Chronic pain affects over 100 million Americans, necessitating non-opioid treatment options.
• Holistic nursing emphasizes whole-person care and evidence-informed, non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Vitamin D deficiency is common and may be linked to chronic pain conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore vitamin D supplementation as an integrative, non-opioid treatment for chronic pain.
• To assess the impact of vitamin D on pain intensity, pain interference, and serum levels.
• To align with the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model (JHEBP) for quality improvement.

Main Methods:

• A 12-week quality improvement project involving 30 vitamin D-naïve chronic pain patients.
• Participants received weekly oral doses of 50,000 IUs of vitamin D.
• Outcomes were measured via pre- and post-surveys, clinical evaluations, and serum vitamin D level testing.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant reductions in pain intensity (p=0.007) and pain interference (p=0.020).
• Serum vitamin D levels increased from 24 to 36 ng/mL (p<0.001) with a large effect size (Cohen's d=1.28).
• 91% of participants reported subjective benefit from the supplementation.

Conclusions:

• Vitamin D supplementation can be a valuable component of holistic chronic pain management.
• This approach supports reducing reliance on opioid analgesics.
• Incorporating vitamin D advances integrative nursing practice and promotes equitable patient care.