Online Learning Prep Group

When Vitamin D deficiency occurs after the growth plates have closed, it is called Osteomalacia.

• Clinical Presentation: Unlike the dramatic bowing seen in children, adults experience vague, diffuse bone pain and proximal muscle weakness (difficulty standing up from a chair).

• Looser Zones: These are "pseudofractures" visible on X-rays—small, radiolucent lines that look like cracks but are actually areas of unmineralized bone.

• Misdiagnosis: In 2026, clinicians are cautioned not to misdiagnose Osteomalacia as Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as it is entirely curable with Vitamin D and Calcium.