Carpal tunnel vitamin B6

Carpal tunnel vitamin B6, does it help or hurt you?

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) sufferers who take vitamin B6 in hopes of improving their condition are wasting their money and may be jeopardizing their health, so says Dr. Alfred Franzblau of the University of Michigan School of Public Health (U of M).

The largest and most comprehensive study to date looked at the carpal tunnel vitamin B6 connection as an alternative medical treatment and found no coorelation between a patient's vitamin B6 level and CTS or carpal tunnel symptoms.

Dr. Franzblau also cautions that excessive doses of vitamin B6 are neurotoxic (i.e. can cause nerve death or damage) and can cause sensory nerve damage.

Unfortunately, a number of small studies convinced many doctors and other healthcare providers to either prescribe or recommend vitamin B6 supplements as part of carpal tunnel treatment, or worse, some still feel it is a carpal tunnel syndrome cure. However, those studies were flawed he said.

Vitamin B6 and carpal tunnel syndrome?

The U of M study is the first to measure blood levels of vitamin B6 and obtain nerve conduction studies (NCS) in 125 patients. The researchers found that 32% reported carpal tunnel symptoms, almost 25% actually had carpal tunnel syndrome and only 8% had vitamin B6 deficiency and symptoms of carpal tunnel or even impaired nerve function.

Dr. Franzblau says our main concern is that patients may be overdosing on vitamin B6. Some people are taking 300mg-1000mg a day!!

Too much vitamin B6 can cause neuropathy problems (i.e. nerve damage).

The Institute of medicine recently established the upper tolerable limit of 100mg per day. Incidentally the U.S.R.D.A (United states recommended dietary allowance) for Vitamin B6 is just 1.6-2.0 mg a day!

Mayo clinic states NO STUDIES have produced reliable evidence that vitamin B6 is a carpal tunnel syndrome cure or even improves carpal tunnel symptoms.

Carpal tunnel syndrome causes
CTS Explanation
How CTS is diagnosed
Non-surgical treatments
CTS wrist braces

Share this page: