Cannabinoid (CBD) oil has become very popular in recent years. One of these reasons is that many studies have reported that it’s beneficial for health. Namely, it can help to treat some medical conditions, including anxiety and stress, pain, skin problems, inflammation, heart health issues, and many more. Many people, clocking onto this growing collective awareness, started using it as an alternative medicinal treatment, often taking it in either the form of drops or by vaping it using a ‘weed pen’. Read on for Can You Use CBD Oil for Pain Management?
Although CBD oil has numerous health benefits, it’s especially important when it comes to pain management. Searching for better and healthier treatment options, people started using CBD oil instead of defaulting to the standard prescription medicines offered by their doctors. Many have claimed that it’s helped them relieve their pain.
How Does CBD Oil Relieve Pain?
When people first hear about CBD oil, they think it’s the same as weed. In fact, it’s different. Namely, CBD oil is an extraction of the cannabinoids of marijuana or hemp. Also, it doesn’t contain THC as the other cannabinoids. Thus, it’s not addictive and doesn’t make you feel high.
CBD oil affects the endocannabinoid system in our body. This system is responsible for receiving and translating cannabinoid signals as well as for producing cannabinoids themselves. It also helps in regulating functions such as immune-system responses, sleep, and pain.
CBD oil works by altering the function of the endocannabinoid system and stops the body from absorbing the compound known as ‘anandamide’. (Interesting to note, this word derives from the Sanskrit word ‘ananda’, that translates as delight, joy, and bliss.) Anandamide is a compound associated with pain regulation. As a result, the levels of anandamide in the blood increase and this is associated with the reduced pain that a person feels.
Additionally, CBD oil can limit inflammation in the nervous system and the brain due to its anti-inflammatory properties. When inflammation is limited and brought under control, pain is reduced.
When Can CBD Oil Help to Relieve Pain?
Although in people have actually been using CBD oil for thousands of years, the medical community has only recently started researching its benefits. Many studies have been carried out on animals to discover the way CBD oil helps in pain management. Results show that CBD oil can help in managing pain as a result of arthritis multiple and sclerosis, as well as various other different types of chronic pain.
Arthritis Pain
There are some known effects of CBD oil that relieve the pain caused by arthritis. There is a supporting study where a gel containing CBD was applied to rats with arthritis for 4 days. After the treatment, the researchers noticed a reduction in inflammation and the signs of pain without any side effects. This was found to be most likely a result of CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects. At least anecdotally, CBD oil has been reported to help relieve people’s arthritic pain with many now using it to soothe joint pain.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the whole body through the brain and the nerves. One of the major and most common symptoms of this disease is muscle spasms. These spasms can be quite debilitating, causing pain. The good news is that it’s been discovered that short-term use of CBD oil might reduce the spasticity levels a person experiences. By reducing those, CBD reduces the associated pain after-effects, too.
Chronic Pain
CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to alter the operation of the endocannabinoid system in pain regulation, allow for chronic pain management. Several different types of chronic pain may be eased; including cancer, headaches, fibromyalgia, migraines, osteoarthritis, and lower back pain. Despite doctors usually handing out the usual round of standard pain medication, people are actually very interested to find alternative, better, and healthier ways to reduce their pain. As many have claimed, CBD oil helps them relieve pain. Here are a couple of examples of conditions when CBD oil helps in pain management.
Cancer Treatment
CBD oil is used by many people who have cancer. It helps reduce the pain caused by the disease and its treatment. As The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has pointed out, CBD oil might help reduce chemotherapy side effects, such as pain and vomiting.
Migraine
Most of the studies that have been carried out so far, used CBD along with THC, not CBD exclusively. Nonetheless, it has been discovered that the combination of these two components can dramatically reduce acute pain. It has also been found to de-intensify the pain experienced by migraine sufferers.
