Magnesium Deficiency Worsens The Pain Of Fibromyalgia

A study conducted in 2013 evaluated 60 pre-menopausal women who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and compared them to 20 healthy women who didn’t have fibromyalgia. Each woman received 300mg of magnesium each day, or 10mg of amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant commonly prescribed for fibromyalgia), or a combination of magnesium and the antidepressant.

For a start, the women with fibromyalgia were found to have lower blood levels of magnesium than the healthy women. The researchers also discovered a negative correlation between magnesium status and fibromyalgia symptoms – the lower the magnesium level, the worse the fibromyalgia.

After 8 weeks of magnesium supplementation, the women given magnesium were shown to have a significant improvement in the number of tender points, tender point index, fibromyalgia impact questionnaire scores and Beck depression scores. These are all indicators of the severity of fibromyalgia.

The scientists concluded that low red blood cell magnesium levels may be a causative factor in fibromyalgia symptoms.

Reference: Bagis S, et al. Is magnesium citrate treatment effective on pain, clinical parameters and functional status in patients with fibromyalgia? Rheumatol Int 2013;33(1):167-172