Table 1.
The effect of vitamin C on complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and other orthopedic pain
| Study type | Intervention | Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Placebo controlled RCT | ||
| Wrist fractures [43]a | i. Placebo (N = 167) | i. 20–42% CRPS (at 6 weeks), 5–16% CRPS (at 1 year) |
| ii. 500 mg/day oral vitamin C (N = 169) for 50 days | ii. 40–42% CRPS (at 6 weeks), 6–16% CRPS (at 1 year) | |
| Wrist fractures [44]a | i. Placebo (N = 99) | i. 10% CRPS |
| ii. 200 mg/day oral vitamin C (N = 96) | ii. 4% CRPS | |
| iii. 500 mg/day oral vitamin C (N = 144) | iii. 2% CRPS* | |
| iv. 1.5 g/day oral vitamin C (N = 118) for 50 days | iv. 2% CRPS* | |
| Wrist fractures [45]a | i. Placebo (N = 63) | i. 22% CRPS |
| ii. 500 mg/day oral vitamin C (N = 52) for 50 days | ii. 7% CRPS* (at 1 year follow up) | |
| Hip/knee osteoarthritis [55] | Placebo or 1 g/day oral vitamin C (N = 133) Cross-over design, 14 days with 7 day washout |
5% ↓ pain (VAS)* |
| Controlled prospective | ||
| Foot and ankle surgery [46]a | i. Control (N = 235) | i. 10% CRPS |
| ii. 1 g/day oral vitamin C (N = 185) for 45 days | ii. 2% CRPS* | |
| Wrist fracture surgery [47]a | i. Control (N = 100) | i. 10% CRPS |
| ii. 1 g/day oral vitamin C (N = 95) for 45 days | ii. 2% CRPS* (at 90 day follow up) | |
| Paget’s disease of bone [59] | i. Calcitonin (N = 13) | i. Pain relief in 85%, marked ↓ pain in 31% |
| ii. Calcitonin + 3 g/day vitamin C (N = 11) for 2 weeks | ii. Pain relief in 73%, marked ↓ pain in 45% | |
| Uncontrolled prospective | ||
| Arthritic joint replacement surgery [54]a | 500 mg/day oral vitamin C (N = 34) for 50 days | 0% CRPS cases |
| Paget’s disease of bone [58] | 3 g/day oral vitamin C (N = 16) for 2 weeks | ↓ Pain in 50%, no pain in 20% (within 5-7 days) |
| Case report | ||
| Rheumatoid arthritis [56] | 50 g IV vitamin C twice/week for 4 weeks | Before: 100% pain (QLQ) |
| After: 0% pain | ||