Shinchuk, Leonid M, Holick, Michael F · Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2007 · DOI
Vitamin D deficiency is very common in people undergoing rehabilitation and can cause bone pain, muscle weakness, and poor balance. This review explains that maintaining healthy vitamin D levels (measured as 30–60 ng/mL in the blood) through sunlight exposure, diet, or supplements can help prevent fractures and improve muscle function. Because vitamin D deficiency can mimic or worsen symptoms of ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and other conditions, doctors should check vitamin D levels in patients with these problems.
ME/CFS patients frequently experience musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and functional decline that can overlap with vitamin D deficiency symptoms. This review highlights that vitamin D status should be part of differential diagnosis in ME/CFS, and correction of deficiency may improve bone health and muscle function—domains often compromised in ME/CFS. Ensuring adequate vitamin D is a low-cost, accessible intervention that may support rehabilitation and functional recovery.
This review does not prove that vitamin D deficiency causes ME/CFS or that supplementation cures the illness. It is a narrative synthesis without randomized controlled trials or ME/CFS-specific cohorts, so cause-and-effect relationships cannot be established. The article does not provide evidence that vitamin D supplementation uniquely improves ME/CFS outcomes distinct from general musculoskeletal function.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Shinchuk, Leonid M & Holick, Michael F (2007). Vitamin d and rehabilitation: improving functional outcomes.. Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1177/0115426507022003297
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-shinchuk-2007-vitamin-rehabilitation,
author = {Shinchuk, Leonid M and Holick, Michael F},
title = {Vitamin d and rehabilitation: improving functional outcomes.},
journal = {Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1177/0115426507022003297},
note = {PubMed: 17507730},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shinchuk-2007-vitamin-rehabilitation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shinchuk-2007-vitamin-rehabilitation
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