Vitamin D and the athlete–patient: state of the art

This review describes the molecular role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle tissue function and metabolism, specifically in relation to proliferation, differentiation and the protein synthesis processes. Substantial evidence suggests that vitamin D may have the potential to modulate protein synthesis, mitochondrial metabolism as well as energy production, which is likely to make an impact on muscle strength, function and performance.

This review article found a strong correlation between vitamin D sufficiency and optimal muscle function. They found that increasing levels of vitamin D reduced inflammation, pain, and myopathy while increasing muscle protein synthesis, ATP concentration, strength, jump height, jump velocity, jump power, exercise capacity, and physical performance.

This review discusses how vitamin D impacts fatigue through biochemical factors connected to oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines, neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, and control of voltage-gated calcium and chloride channels.