Vitamin C May Help Prevent Nerve Disorder

Vitamin C May Help Prevent Nerve Disorder

NEW YORK--Vitamin C may stave off a form of nerve pain known as reflex sympatheticdystrophy (RSD). RSD may develop following an injury and lingers long after the injury hashealed. People who took vitamin C after breaking a wrist were less likely to develop RSDthan those who took an inactive placebo drug, according to a report in the March issue of TheJournal of Family Practice. In the study, 115 wrist fracture patients took either aplacebo or 500 mg of vitamin C daily for 50 days following the injury. One year later, RSDoccurred in only seven percent of patients in the vitamin C group, compared with 22percent of those on placebo.

"Although this dose is 10-fold higher than the recommended daily allowance, it isstill well below the overdose level,'' writes Dr. Nancy Misicko of the LawrencevilleFamily Health Center in Pittsburgh. "This inexpensive and relatively easy treatmentseems especially prudent for older patients and those with early complaints while wearingthe plaster cast.''

Vitamin C, as an antioxidant, may help prevent RSD by speeding up nerve repair,according to Dr. Robert Gordon of the Family and Sports Medical Center in Plymouth, Mich.For further information, visit www.jfampract.com.