Calcitonin

Calcitonin has been shown to have beneficial effects on reducing pain in patients with osteoporosis and chronic back pain after acute vertebral fractures.³⁶, ³⁷ Acute pain generally responds to calcitonin within 2-7 days.

In addition, calcitonin has been shown to reduce pain due to migraine headaches, osteolytic bone lesions, and cancer pain unrelated to bone involvement. It has been suggested that calcitonin may increase circulating beta-endorphin levels.

Both the intranasal and injectable forms of calcitonin seem to be effective in reducing pain, and a recent study evaluated the effect of calcitonin suppositories on the reduction of pain related to osteoporotic vertebral fractures.³⁷

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