Magnesium to treat chronic pain
WorkSafeBC Evidence-Based Practice Group, Martin CW
Record ID 32018014880
English
Authors' objectives:
To determine whether there is any evidence to support the efficacy/effectiveness of Magnesium (Mg) in treating chronic pain.
Authors' results and conclusions:
Of the seven studies that were retrieved in full, two studies were not relevant and will not be discussed further. Of the remaining five studies that were retrieved in full, they were all in the form of systematic reviews of which two of these were high quality Cochrane reviews and one Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence-Based Practice review (level of evidence 1). Of the remaining two systematic reviews, one we appraised as low quality (unclear search methods with absence of critical appraisal) and the other one as high quality (clear objective, clear search methods, clear critical appraisal with clear data presentations). We then compared the primary studies, those investigating the application of Mg in treating chronic non-cancer pain included in these five systematic reviews. One, of high-quality, systematic review included all the relevant primary studies employed in the other four systematic reviews. Hence, we decided to summarize this high-quality systematic review . This systematic review, that attempted to assess the efficacy and safety of magnesium for the treatment of chronic pain, searched for placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trials evaluating magnesium administered for the treatment of chronic pain (defined as pain that persists for ? 3 months) that were published in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, or EMBASE, from their inception until 2019 and supplemented with manual searches as well. The authors described a clear study selection process, including dealing with missing data, measuring treatment effects as well as employing a risk of bias assessment as described in the Cochrane handbook for systematic review of interventions. Of the 1062 studies identified in their literature searches, nine studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. Of these nine primary studies included, six were on patients diagnosed with neuropathic pain, CRPS and low back pain while three primary studies were on migraine patients. With the exception of patients with chronic low back pain, the authors concluded that there was no evidence of benefit of Mg (vs. placebo) in treating these chronic pain patients. With regard to the chronic low back pain patients, although this parallel study on Mg sulfate infusion followed by Mg Oxide and Mg gluconate oral capsules (vs. placebo) showed a statistically reduction in pain at six weeks (but NOT at two weeks, three months and six months with Bonferroni adjustment) the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size as well as unclear randomization, incomplete outcome data and potential reporting bias. At present, there was no evidence on the efficacy/effectiveness of Mg in treating chronic pain patients.
Authors' methods:
A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted on June 30, 2025. The search was done on commercial medical literature databases using a combination of keywords. No limitations, such as on the language or year of publication, were implemented in any of these searches. A manual search was also conducted on the references of articles that were retrieved in full.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/research-services/evidence-based-medicine-and-systematic-reviews
Year Published:
2025
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Mini HTA
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Chronic Pain
- Magnesium
- Dietary Supplements
- Magnesium Compounds
- Pain Management
Keywords
- magnesium
- chronic pain
Contact
Organisation Name:
WorkSafeBC
Contact Address:
6591 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC, V7C 1C6 Canada. Tel: 604-231-8417; Fax: 604-279-7698
Contact Name:
ebpg@worksafebc.com
Contact Email:
ebpg@worksafebc.com
Copyright:
WorkSafe BC
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.