CBD for Pain: Exploring the Health Benefits

• October 6, 2021

If you’ve ever been to the gym, or worse, gone back after a long break, you know you’ll have to roll off your bed the next morning. Your sore muscles need more than just a warm bath that day, and for the next few days counting. While workout is a miscellaneous reason for stiff muscles and pain, body ache is often a result of chronic illnesses that one may not have so much control over.

In cases like these, finding relief with a balm or a consumable can turn your day around. CBD for pain, has quite recently, been a top-tier example of ‘what works, sells’. Even without monumental clinical backing, anecdotal evidence has made CBD products a favorite for patients suffering from long-term muscle & joint pain, body ache and soreness, cancer treatment pain or the random backaches you get after a drunk night on the couch.

How Can CBD Help Reduce Pain?

Out of all the ‘known’ or advocated benefits of CBD, pain relief has shown the most promising results. Current studies have found that CBD in the right quantity, and often in conjunction with THC can reduce chronic pain, cancer treatment pain, arthritis, and inflammation in joints as well as skin.

While THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis causing a high, introduction to this constituent in a person’s diet at a slow pace and in a solution with prominent CBD proportions does not cause intoxication or impairment. THC isolate doesn’t have many known pain-relieving effects, but CBD isolate, broad-spectrum CBD, and full-spectrum CBD products have a market of their own, simply trending in pain relief balms, tinctures, patches, gummies, and whatnot.

According to a 2015 study regarding CBD’s effect on patients with epilepsy, the subjects showed a great alleviation in pain, increased appetite while reducing the frequency of seizures.

CBD oils, balms, patches, tinctures & edibles all have their pain relief counterparts among many others which can include relaxation, nausea control, etc. But if there are so many different products out there, which one is the best solution? None. CBD isn’t a medication with directed dosages in a particular form to solve a specific issue. Its use is mostly dependent on your preference, how quickly you want to feel the effect, and for how long.

CBD oils, however, both consumable and topical, have been a great source of pain relief.

How to Use CBD Oil for Pain?

Wondering how to use CBD oil for pain? Here’s the answer to that!

CBD oils can be both, applied topically or consumed sublingually. No, not the same product, you’ll find different products for different applications.

• Topical CBD Oil– These prove to be especially beneficial in reducing localized, arthritis & neuropathic pain. These oils can be used to massage over sore muscles and stiff joints.
  These can be added to lotions or balms and applied directly onto the distressed area.
  CBD living- CBD Massage Oil is a favorite for people with tired and stiff muscles.
• Consumable CBD Oil– This type of CBD product can be consumed sublingually, (under the tongue) to be absorbed in the bloodstream immediately and for the effects to ensue just as quickly. You can add these drops into other beverages to subside the effect and delay it at the same time.
  Delta Botanicals CBD Oral Tincture, available in four colors (and four potency variants), is a great dietary supplement for pain & inflammation.

Other CBD Products for Pain Relief

Other than topical oils, you can find balms, sticks & roll-on’s, pain creams, sprays, and patches that work to relax your muscles and ease your pain. Sky Wellness – CBD Max Relief Roll is easy to use on the wrists, elbows, knees, feet, ankles, shoulders, neck, back, or hips.

Oral products include capsules, sublingual sprays, gummies, candy, snacks, and more. CBD Living Gel Capsules with their self-emulsifying technology helps you enjoy quick effects for pain relief and relaxation.

Cannabidiol Benefits and Pain Relief

Arthritis Pain

People suffering from arthritis have to live with joint pain, swelling, and tenderness which only worsen with age. Recent studies have shown that CBD and THC in combination can help relieve the pain to a great extent.

Even though the use of CBD for arthritis hasn’t been approved by the FDA, it is widely used by people suffering from chronic illnesses. Full-spectrum CBD which includes other cannabidiol components like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), flavonoids, and terpenes is the best form of CBD to cater to an arthritis patient. THC in full-spectrum is balanced out by the CBD that has anti-psychoactive effects, so if you’re worried about the ‘high’ associated with THC, you can choose a product with a 1:1 ratio.

Neuropathic Pain

This type of pain is associated with damage done to the nerves and the nervous system. Even though the research isn’t very vast, the known side effects of controlled CBD use are extremely limited. CBD transdermal patches, massage oils, and balms have a relieving effect on pain while ingestion of CBD, too, has proven to be beneficial for patients.

In a 2020 study, 29 symptomatic peripheral neuropathy patients were randomized into divisions receiving treatment of topical CBD and placebo. After four weeks of examination, the results advocated the benefits of CBD in treating neuropathic pain.

Chronic Pain

In America, people suffering from chronic pain lie somewhere between 50 to 116 million- sounds crazy, doesn’t it. A majority of this number depends on prescription medications that have high addictive potential.

CBD, the elixir-like potion that it is, has a bunch of pain-relieving benefits but without the associated addiction. If you do want a little bit of that high though, there are definitely variants out there for you.

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscle spasms, stiff and painful muscles in patients suffering from MS can be a real pain in the ‘muscle’ of course. Battling with a chronic disease is bad enough, you don’t need a sore body to be a constant reminder, day in and day out. People tend to use CBD oil for pain, rubbing it onto sore areas for relief.
Incidental Pain
Accidents, workouts, bad sleeping posture,  could be anything. There is no rule to it, there are days when you wake up and feel it in your neck or back muscles. Even migraines and severe headaches can jump at you out of nowhere and result in sleepless nights and loss of appetite.

You can always depend on hemp-derived CBD products to relax after long days, massage your sore shoulders after heavy lifting or take relaxing baths that suck the tension right out of your body.

Pain Associated With Age

Growing old, living a peaceful life, maybe even in the outskirts of the city, working from home in a post covid situation (all hail hybrid workplaces); but the moment you step down the stairs, the bliss is gone. Replaced with excruciating pain in your knees.

This one’s common across every community, it’s gonna happen someday, so might as well prepare for it. CBD ointments, pain relief patches, capsules, sprays and balms, all have anecdotal evidence of the drug’s great powers. It is actually the most common use of CBD topical products (not just for pain related to old age but the pain in general).

Why Choose CBD for Pain Relief?

Most pain relievers and pharma drugs when used long-term have habit-inducing effects, making patients dependent on these drugs. Discontinuation of the painkillers can result in restlessness, loss of appetite, anxiety, nausea, and a need to continue use. CBD, on the other hand, is a nonaddictive component of the cannabis plant. Often extracted from the hemp plant, it has less than 0.3% THC. Even the CBD extracted from marijuana is not explicitly addictive, as long as consumed in the right proportions directed by your physician.

However, don’t forget that CBD can affect how your body reacts to different types of medication, sometimes for the better, other times for the worse.

Make sure you ask your doctor about the appropriate CBD usage if you’re using any other medication. Even if you aren’t on one and are thinking of using CBD for pain, consult with your doctor first.

Final Thoughts

CBD has a long way to go when it comes to being backed up by credible research. But that doesn’t mean its benefits are completely baseless. A lot of us have used it in one form or another and can easily vouch for its benefits. Others want to try and find out what the hype is all about.

When you’re new to CBD, go small, go slow, and work your way up. This will give your body time to adjust to the effects while also allowing you to experiment with different types of CBD products and find the one that suits you best.