If I break my wrist (distal radius fracture), should I take Vitamin C

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has recommended the use of Vitamin C to prevent complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) for patients with distal radius fractures, but some orthopaedists have dismissed the existing literature in suppport of this practice (500 mg a day for 50 days), due to the feeling that the evidence is weak.
Drs Kevin Chung and Sunitha Malay validated the recommendation recently in an article in the November 2014 edition of the Journal of Hand Surgery. They obtained 225 articles to review on the subject, and their exhaustive review supported a quantified reduction in CRPS risk. In light of the low cost and morbidity of taking Vitamin C after a fractured wrist, and the epidemiological evidence, my recommendation to my patients is that they take Vitamin C 500mg daily for 50 days when they sustain a distal radius fracture, regardless of the treatment.

You must be logged in to post a reply. Please login or click here to create an account.