Severe pain after trivial injuries or surgery has been a fearful hazard. Now Vitamin C has been shown to perhaps prevent pains after wrist surgery
Open Orthop J. 2010 Feb 17;4:71-5.
No Higher Risk of CRPS After External Fixation of Distal Radial Fractures – Subgroup Analysis Under Randomised Vitamin C Prophylaxis.
Zollinger PE, Kreis RW, van der Meulen HG, van der Elst M, Breederveld RS, Tuinebreijer WE.
“In the operated group of patients who received vitamin C no CRPS (0/37) was seen in comparison with one case of CRPS (Kapandji technique) in the operated group who received placebo (1/11 = 9%, p=.23)”
OK – not exactly statistically great but still zero cases is zero cases.
Previously, Vitamin C has been shown to help prevent pain:
- After wrist fractures
- After shingles:
Anyone having surgery or having significant trauma injury should be taking 500 mg twice daily of vitamin C.
Addendum:
Recent article discusses this further:
Korean J Pain. 2012 Jul;25(3):200-1.
Vitamin C and its emerging role in pain management: beneficial effects in pain conditions besides post herpetic neuralgia.
Kapoor S. free article here
They mention another surgical article:
Besse JL, Gadeyne S, Galand-Desmé S, Lerat JL, Moyen B.
Effect of vitamin C on prevention of complex regional pain syndrome type I in foot and ankle surgery.
Foot Ankle Surg 2009; 15: 179-82. abstract here
- After foot and ankle surgery
- tourniquet and cast immobilisation used – both can cause vascular damage that is involved in CRPS
- 1 gm in AM vitamin C/day morning after surgery and for 45 days
- 185 in Control group; 235 in Vitamin C (Big study)
- 9.6% Complex regional pain in control group and 1.7% in Vitamin C group (p< 0.00001)