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If you've tried "anything" and "everything" to get get rid of your chronic back pain with no result, new evidence suggests there are two reasons why.

Before I reveal this, please make sure to read an older Daily Topic article called, "The Stealth Causes Of Back Pain" first, if you haven't already.

The new evidence reveals that a Vitamin D deficiency maybe the reason why back pain lingers on without resolve, and it makes little difference what the actual cause was.

When six patients with a history of intractable back pain were given a sufficient dose of vitamin D, each found relief. Bear in mind that each patient had disabling, chronic back pain and were taking pain medication. 

Back surgery often fails, and these patient's histories were no exception.

The medical histories of the test group were interesting, because relief was found despite series of compounding events. In one such case, a 63-year-old man had a history of four back operations for disc protrusion, the last of which occured 15 years ago.

His blood level of vitamin D (25, hydroxy vitamin D) was only 20 nmol/l (nanimoles per liter) or a measure I prefer to use was 8 ng/mL (8 nanograms per milliliter), this is incredibly low!

He was placed on 4,000 international units of vitamin D3. Six weeks later, his vitamin D level was 87 nmol/l or 35 ng/mL and his back pain vanished!

A patient also enrolled in the study was 47-years old who had a marginally successful back surgery, although his symptoms returned six months following the operation.

His pain increased to the point where he was incapable of normal activity, and needed pain medication to get through the day. He was given 2,000 international units of vitamin D3. Eventually, his back pain ceased and was able to return to his former full capacity, no longer hindered, no longer required to take any more medication.

In the case of another patient, this time a young women aged 30-years-old. She had chronic back pain that worsened after pregnancy. Unable to work for several years, her medication was only marginally helpful for pain relief.

She was found to have a severe deficiency of vitamin D, and was started on 2,000 internation units. Her back pain completely resolved within six weeks and was able to return to work.

When first checked, her initial vitamin D level was only 18 nmol/l or 7 ng/mL. Her levels were brought up to 82 nmol/l or 33 ng/mL.

The obvious lesson here is to check your vitamin D status before considering any pain treatment or surgery. Other painful conditions such as fibromyalgia are sometimes really undiagnosed osteomalacia, which is characterized as softening of the bones due to a lack of vitamin D. The basic symptom of osteomalacia is bone pain.

There is no universal dosage of vitamin D that will bring a patients levels up to healthful levels, because everyone is very different in this area. Some may need only a few thousand units per day to normalize their 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels, while others may need as much 20,000 IU per day.

The target desirable levels of vitamin D are greater than 40 ng/mL or 100 nmol/l. You're vitamin D deficient if your levels are between 20- 40 ng/mL or 50 - 100 nmol/l, insufficient at 10 - 20 ng/mL or 25 -50 mmol/l and deficient below 10 ng/mL or 25 nmol/l.

Finally, maximal levels of 25, hydroxy vitamin D should not go much further than 90 ng/mL or 250 nmol/l.

For the average person, I would suggest starting out with 5,000 IU per day and if necessary, have your levels checked if relief is not found.

The other overlooked cause of back pain will be mentioned in the Next Daily Topic.