Looking at: wrist sprains and vitamin D intake

Posted on 6 December 2012

As South Africans we’re lucky to be living in a country where the sun (almost) always shines. But what does that mean for our vitamin D intake? We asked our experts to answer – as well as another question about a wrist injury.

Do we need extra vitamin D even though we have lots of sunshine in South Africa?
As we know, a vitamin D deficiency can cause a variety of problems such as osteoporosis or fatigue. Luckily, South Africans get enough sun for our bodies to be able to produce our own vitamin D. ‘You need 15 minutes of sunshine a couple of times per week (too little to cause skin cancer), to produce enough vitamin D for one to three days’ use (1 500 to 3 000 IU),’ explains registered dietitian Dr Driekie Rankin at Mediclinic Potchefstroom in the North West. ‘However, a sun block of SPF 15 or higher will block out 95 per cent of the body’s ability to produce vitamin D via your skin so if you are exposed to the sun less than three times a week, or you use sun block all the time, you might need a vitamin D supplement – but don’t take more than 2 000 IU/day.’

I injured my wrist lifting weights a week ago. When is it safe to lift weights again?
‘Wrist injuries are quite common if you lift heavy weights as part of your weight training. The most common wrist injury with which people present at the practice are sprains,’ says physiotherapist Darryl de Klerk at Mediclinic Sandton in Johannesburg. ‘A sprain means the ligaments around the carpal and metacarpal bones in the wrist have been damaged. If you’ve sprained your wrist you ought to rest it and refrain from lifting heavy weights for around two to three weeks,’ he says. ‘Physiotherapy can speed up healing, and you can also use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication to help reduce swelling and pain, but you must first consult a GP or orthopaedic surgeon to rule out a  – the bone most commonly involved in wrist fractures.’

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The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.