For centuries, children with rickets were reported to demonstrate muscle wasting, weakness and hypotonia. Similarly, adults with vitamin D deficiency commonly display myalgia, muscle weakness and type 2 muscle fibre atrophy, which reverse with vitamin D supplementation. However, vitamin D’s effects in muscle are elusive. Whether its effects in muscle are predominantly indirect, via calcium and/or phosphate levels, or direct has been debated for decades. The central question is whether the vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in skeletal muscle and directly alters muscle physiology. In this talk, research evaluating the VDR in muscle, experimental models assessing vitamin D signalling in this tissue and technical reasons for the controversial nature of this field will be presented.