As we age, we become more and more aware of our joints. After all, painful joints can affect mobility, our fitness, and eventually, our independence.
But could joint pain be affected by B12 deficiency?
In this article, we'll answer this very question as we explore what B12 deficiency is and whether it affects joint pain.
Continue reading as we cover everything you need to know.
What is Vitamin B12?
Vitamin B12 (also known as Cobalamin) is an essential (and water soluble) vitamin that plays an indispensable role in cell metabolism. You need vitamin B12 to maintain a healthy nervous system, and it can help your body to produce red blood cells.
You can find Vitamin B12 in many foods, particularly meat, fish, and dairy products such as cheese or milk. Often, breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin B12 too.
It is also possible to supplement with vitamin B12. It's commonly found in multivitamins and even other supplements such as nootropics; it's found in our Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi and Stim formulas.
Some people even choose to have b12 injections, but be sure to obtain medical advice before going ahead with this method of consuming this vitamin.
How Common or Likely is Vitamin B 12 Deficiency?
Most people are not deficient in vitamin B12, as it is abundant in many foods. However, certain groups are in danger of deficiency. In fact, vitamin B12 is one of the most common vitamin deficiencies.
The groups affected are elderly people and vegans. The reason vegans are often deficient in vitamin B12 is probably quite apparent when you look at the most common sources of it in the diet: meat, fish, and dairy.
Vegans consume none of these foods. Their only sources of vitamin B12 come from foods that are fortified with it. Breakfast cereals, certain vegan milk-alternatives (soya etc.), and some types of bread are the only way to increase vitamin B12 through diet.
Without supplementation, vitamin B12 deficiency can cause numerous issues and is a genuine possibility for vegans.
The other group at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency is the elderly. This is mostly down to an increased risk of illnesses or diseases that can cause malabsorption of vitamin B12.
Their diet doesn’t lack vitamin B12; their body is just not as efficient at extracting it from the food during the digestion process.
As with vegans, this group would benefit from supplementation–though medical intervention would be a more crucial step.
Pernicious Anemia
Pernicious anemia is the most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency. It is an auto-immune disease that affects the stomach and leads to poor absorption of vitamin B12. It is not treated with vitamin B12 supplements, but with injections of vitamin B12 instead.
If you are elderly and are noticing some of the symptoms described below, it is a good idea to see a doctor to find out if you have pernicious anaemia.
Read on as we look at these symptoms in more detail in the next section.
What Are the Symptoms of B12 Deficiency?
There are many symptoms of B12 deficiency, though unless you know what you are looking for, it can be difficult to spot.
People with a vitamin B12 deficiency are often lethargic and constantly fatigued.
Muscle weakness is another symptom, which has a link with fatigue. B12 deficiency can also affect cognition, with impaired memory and focus reported. It can also affect your vision, while depression can be a symptom too.
One of the most well-known symptoms of B12 deficiency is paraesthesia, which sounds a lot more terrifying than it actually is! Paraesthesia is the scientific term for pins and needles.
If you’ve ever had a pre-workout with beta-alanine in it, you may have experienced this. It’s an unpleasant experience and can make your skin feel itchy and prickly.
But other than being annoying, it isn’t dangerous.
A range of other symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency includes:
- a sore/red tongue
- blurry vision
- loss of memory
- depression
As you can see, being deficient in folate can result in mild to extreme symptoms.
For this reason, it's always wise to ensure that you're providing your body with enough of this vitamin (as well as other vitamins and minerals) through a carefully planned diet or high quality multivitamin supplement.
As mentioned previously, our Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi delivers more than 100% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of this nutrient. This is great for those that don't have the time to always plan each meal of the day and want a clean multivitamin that they can take on the go.
Can Vitamin B12 Deficiency Cause Joint Pain?
Joint pain has many causes and is quite common in the elderly. As such, it is difficult to work out if a B12 deficiency and joint pain are because of correlation or causation.
A 2012 case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine describes a 62-year-old man who came into hospital with suspected pernicious anemia.
Among his symptoms (see the list above) joint pain was mentioned. This was a profoundly severe case of vitamin B12 deficiency, and many of his symptoms were extreme. He had ataxia, which affects balance and how you walk, which could well have led to joint pain.
This case study has led to many articles online saying that a vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to joint pain. But we are not convinced, since many studies do not mention joint pain as a symptom.
Homocysteine and Vitamin B12
The reason people believe that vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to joint pain is that there appears to be a relationship between low vitamin B12 levels and high levels of homocysteine (an amino acid). This is because healthy levels of B12 can lower homocysteine.
Studies have found that people who have arthritis (a cause of joint pain) tend to have high levels of homocysteine.
The idea is that vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to increased homocysteine levels, which would then cause inflammation and then joint pain.
However, there are a couple of problems with this theory. Firstly, while there is evidence that vitamin B12 deficiency causes high homocysteine levels, there is insufficient evidence that elevated homocysteine levels cause inflammation and therefore, joint pain.
Secondly, there is no evidence that vitamin B12 deficiency causes joint pain—just the study mentioned above.
That does not mean that we can say for sure that vitamin B12 deficiency doesn’t cause joint pain, just that the evidence is not there yet.
Common Causes of Joint Pain
There are many different causes of joint pain, but before looking for a cure, it is essential to get an idea of how joint pain is caused.
Age is a common factor, but not a specific cause. Gout is a common cause of joint pain, which is caused by high levels of uric acid in the body.
Injury from exercise or a fall is another common cause of joint pain. Falling over, over-use injuries, or getting injured by say, a tackle in football can lead to joint pain down the line.
Then you’ve got inflammation that comes from arthritis, or in rare cases; medical conditions such as cancer can cause joint pain.
As you can imagine, many of these causes have nothing to do with vitamin B12, which is why supplementation is not always a cure for joint pain. Though often, supplements can be helpful. Particularly for injury/exercise-related joint pain and arthritis.
Should You Supplement with Vitamin B12?
If you are suffering from joint pain, then vitamin B12 supplementation should not be your first port of call. Other supplement ingredients can help.
If you are elderly and have concerns about some of the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, then you should see your doctor. If you do have pernicious anemia, then supplementation may not be the answer.
If you are vegan, then supplementing with vitamin B12 is a sensible move. You are not going to get enough vitamin B12 from your diet unless you plan on eating a LOT of cereal!
There are many benefits to maintaining healthy vitamin B12 levels. Or perhaps a better way to phrase that would be that there are many downsides to not maintaining healthy levels of vitamin B12.
While high levels of homocysteine may not cause joint pain, they can cause an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, an increased risk of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s, and an increased risk of fractures.
Taking vitamin B12 while pregnant is often deemed a good idea, as it lowers the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children , which is why vitamin B12 is usually found in supplements for pregnant women alongside folate (vitamin B9).
Final Thoughts on Joint Pain and B12 Deficiency
If you follow a vegan diet, then you should take a vitamin B12 supplement no matter what. However, if you are taking vitamin B12 because you think it will cure your joint pain, then you may face disappointment.
Now, there does not appear to be enough evidence that vitamin B12 supplementation can reduce joint pain.
Also, if you are not vegan, then you are unlikely to be deficient in vitamin B12 because your diet is lacking. A more likely reason would be low absorption in the gut, probably because of pernicious anaemia. If this is the case, then vitamin B12 supplementation isn’t expected to make much difference.
See a doctor instead.
If homocysteine turns out to cause arthritis and therefore joint pain, then vitamin B12 supplementation would be a consideration. As things stand, that does not seem to be the case.
Supplements such as glucosamine seem to be much more effective at treating osteoarthritis and have the scientific evidence to back them up. As do rose hip supplements.
Bottom Line: If you are vegan, take vitamin B12. If you are pregnant, then (with your doctor’s blessing) take vitamin B12. If you are not deficient in vitamin B12, then supplementation will probably not affect joint pain.
References
- Puig, A., Mino-Kenudson, M., & Dighe, A. S. (2012). Case 13-2012. New England Journal of Medicine, 366(17), 1626–1633.
- Frank, K., Patel, K., Lopez, G., & Willis, B. (2020). Vitamin B₁₂ Research Analysis. Examine.com.
- Lowering Homocysteine - learn how to prevent high homocysteine levels. (n.d.). Foodforthebrain.Org.
- Roubenoff, R., Dellaripa, P., Nadeau, M. R., Abad, L. W., Muldoon, B. A., Selhub, J., & Rosenberg, I. H. (1997). Abnormal homocysteine metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 40(4), 718–722.
- McLean, R. R., Jacques, P. F., Selhub, J., Tucker, K. L., Samelson, E. J., Broe, K. E., Hannan, M. T., Cupples, L. A., & Kiel, D. P. (2004). Homocysteine as a predictive factor for hip fracture in older persons. The New England Journal of Medicine, 350(20), 2042–2049.
- Bailey, H. D., Miller, M., Langridge, A., de Klerk, N. H., van Bockxmeer, F. M., Attia, J., Scott, R. J., Armstrong, B. K., & Milne, E. (2012). Maternal dietary intake of folate and vitamins B6 and B12 during pregnancy and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nutrition and Cancer, 64(7), 1122–1130.
- Winther, K., Apel, K., & Thamsborg, G. (2005). A powder made from seeds and shells of a rose‐hip subspecies (Rosa canina) reduces symptoms of knee and hip osteoarthritis: a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial. Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 34(4), 302–308.
