Vitamin D deficiency can cause many aches and pains of the joints, bones and muscles. It can also be very hard to diagnose in certain cases. When the body lacks vitamin D it causes a low calcium level in the body. Bones have to have calcium to thrive.
Vitamin D deficiency is usually due to a lack of sunlight. Lack of sunlight can be dominant in very young or elderly people. Some elderly people who are in health care settings such as nursing homes do not get accurate sunlight. Infants and young children are also inside more than not which also makes them vulnerable to a deficiency.
Vitamin Info
Some symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency in infants are very soft skulls, being slow in sitting or crawling, crying more than normal, and spaces between the skull bones may be slow to close. In children between the ages of 1-4 years, symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency may be bow legs, abnormal curve of the spine or bowed knees. These children may also be slower than average to walk.
Some symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency in older children and adults may be pain while walking, flattened pelvic bones, and a narrow birth canal in adolescent girls. Vitamin D deficiency can be very painful and mostly affects the bones, particularly the leg bones, pelvis and spine.
These bones are weakened which is the cause of the pain. These areas could even be painful to touch and easily fractured. Doctor's diagnose Vitamin D deficiency usually only when people report having inadequate exposure to sunlight or having an inadequate diet.
Doctor's also suspect a Vitamin D deficiency in those who have already reported and diagnosed low bone density.
This is mostly found in elderly patients. When diagnosing a Vitamin D. deficiency blood tests and x-rays can confirm the deficiency. When symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency occur, it is important to seek medical attention. Make sure to tell your physician all of the factors that could be important in diagnosis, such as lack of exposure to sunlight and an inadequate diet.
There is treatment available for Vitamin D deficiency.