Systematic review and meta-analysis on vitamin C in musculoskeletal disorders

doi:10.5312/wjo.v17.i5.116723

Advanced Search

BPG is committed to discovery and dissemination of knowledge

Home / Archive / Volume 17, Issue 5

This Article

(0) (0) (0) (106)

Peer-Review Report of This Article

CrossCheck and Google Search of This Article

Academic Rules and Norms of This Article

Citation of this article

Corresponding Author of This Article

Research Domain of This Article

Article-Type of This Article

Open-Access Policy of This Article

Times Cited Counts in Google of This Article

Journal Information of This Article

Publication Name

World Journal of Orthopedics

ISSN

2218-5836

Publisher of This Article

Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Systematic Reviews

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Orthop. May 18, 2026; 17(5): 116723
Published online May 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i5.116723

Systematic review and meta-analysis on vitamin C in musculoskeletal disorders

Madhan Jeyaraman, Naveen Jeyaraman, Mainak Roy, Arulkumar Nallakumarasamy, Abdus Sami, Sathish Muthu, Karthikeyan P Iyengar, Vijay Kumar Jain

Madhan Jeyaraman, Naveen Jeyaraman, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nādu, India

Madhan Jeyaraman, Naveen Jeyaraman, Arulkumar Nallakumarasamy, Sathish Muthu, Department of Regenerative Medicine, Agathisha Institute of Stemcell and Regenerative Medicine, Chennai 600030, Tamil Nādu, India

Madhan Jeyaraman, Naveen Jeyaraman, Sathish Muthu, Department of Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Research Group, Coimbatore 641045, Tamil Nādu, India

Mainak Roy, Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani 741245, West Bengal, India

Arulkumar Nallakumarasamy, Department of Orthopaedics, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Karaikal 609602, Puducherry, India

Abdus Sami, Vijay Kumar Jain, Department of Orthopaedics, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi 110001, India

Sathish Muthu, Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Kanchipuram 631552, Tamil Nādu, India

Karthikeyan P Iyengar, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching NHS Trust, Southport PR8 6PN, United Kingdom

Author contributions: Jeyaraman M contributed to proofreading; Jeyaraman M, Jeyaraman N, and Jain VK contributed to conceptualization; Jeyaraman N, Roy M, Sami A, and Muthu S contributed to acquiring clinical data and performing the data analysis; Jeyaraman M and Nallakumarasamy A contributed to manuscript writing; Jeyaraman M and Muthu S helped in manuscript revision; Iyengar KP contributed to administration. All authors have agreed to the final version to be published and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.

Corresponding author: Madhan Jeyaraman, MS, PhD, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Velappanchavadi, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nādu, India. madhanjeyaraman@gmail.com

Received: November 19, 2025
Revised: December 22, 2025
Accepted: February 6, 2026
Published online: May 18, 2026
Processing time: 181 Days and 1.5 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent and impact health around the world. Traditional treatments may not always be effective and safe.

AIM

To determine the effectiveness of vitamin C supplementation on reducing pain, improving function and supporting tissue repair in MSDs.

METHODS

Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and observational studies that assessed the impact of vitamin C on MSDs. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to evaluate the quality of studies. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Thirty studies were included in the meta-analysis. Vitamin C significantly reduced pain (SMD = -0.68; 95% confidence interval: -0.87 to -0.49) and improved function (SMD = 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.77). Collagen synthesis and inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrotizing factor-α) were all consistently improved.

CONCLUSION

Vitamin C supplementation might have additional benefits in some MSDs, such as reducing pain and inflammatory modulation. But there is currently little consistency in the evidence and medium quality of the methods used. No definitive therapeutic efficacy can be determined, and further well-designed, disorder-specific randomized controlled trials are required.

Keywords: Vitamin C; Musculoskeletal disorders; Analgesia; Inflammation; Tissue repair; Antioxidants

Core Tip: Vitamin C is a promising additive medication for musculoskeletal disorders with its potential benefits in terms of pain reduction, functional improvement, and tissue regeneration. Its effects on collagen production and reducing inflammation has been confirmed in 30 studies. Based on these results, vitamin C can be added to the treatment protocol of musculoskeletal disorders and the findings stress the need for further well-designed and tightly controlled trials to define the optimal doses and clarify the therapeutic role of vitamin C in orthopaedic medicine.