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Is CBD Oil for Arthritis Really That Good?
Arthritis is a progressive disease that impacts people daily. It usually affects the joints and can cause problems when left untreated. Failure to treat arthritis can lead to short and long-term disability and loss of essential biological functions. Arthritis is most common on weight-bearing joints, including the hips, knees, and spine, but it can also affect non-weight-bearing joints, including the fingers.
Inflammatory and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs when, instead of protecting the joints, your immune system attacks the body’s tissue, including the joints. This can result in joint erosion and may destroy internal body parts, eyes, and other organs.
According to studies, a mixture of genetics and ecological factors may be related to the condition; for instance, smoking is an environmental risk that can spark RA in people with specific genetics.
Receiving treatment early on is an easy way to battle autoimmune and inflammatory forms of arthritis. Patients usually seek treatments that reduce pain, enhance bodily functions, and stop the disease from spreading to other parts of the body. Anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the standard treatment for inflammatory arthritis. However, cannabis is now seen as the perfect alternative prescription pills.
CBD oil originates from the cannabis plant. It doesn’t have the psychoactive substance found in THC; therefore, it won’t make you high. Current studies on CBD oil show that it has positive effects on several painful conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. These promising results first appeared in 2008 when a review concluded that CBD reduced pain associated with RA. It also improved sleep quality for patients without any adverse side effects.
According to research conducted in 2016, CBD gel can potentially relieve and reduce joint pain and inflammation in rats. This gives hope for people living with arthritis, but more studies on CBD for treating rheumatoid arthritis are needed.
How to Use CBD oil for Pain Relief: Risks and Benefits
Does CBD work for arthritis? Animal studies have suggested that CBD has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, but these effects have not been validated in quality studies in humans. Anecdotally, some people with arthritis who have tried CBD, but not all, report noticeable pain relief, sleep improvement and/or anxiety reduction.
According to Chinese scientists, arthritic joints have high amounts of CB2 receptors, which can be used as a pathway for treatment. CB2 is a molecule in the cell wall, functioning as a gateway for cannabinoids to enter the cell. The cell attracts useful compounds that pass through it during bodily processes.
Although the body generates endocannabinoids that function through the CB2 receptors, cannabis-infused products can pass through the same door. For this reason, scientists trust that cannabis can effectively treat disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Evidence Showing the Potential of Treating Arthritis with CBD Oil
According to research in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the body’s endocannabinoids generate antioxidants, which fix damaged cells when external cannabinoids act on it.
One story about a Maine woman who drinks cannabis smoothies to treat her rheumatoid arthritis symptoms shows that CBD oil can potentially treat arthritis. So there is a need for more research to be conducted on CBD oil’s ability to treat different diseases.
What Do Studies on CBD oil and Arthritis Show?
CBD can improve arthritis symptoms in several ways. It boosts immunity, which can be useful for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. It reduces aggravation, which can help with controlling many forms of arthritis. It has a couple of indirect advantages for arthritis patients, as well.
Still, a considerable number of investigations haven’t explored CBD straightforwardly. Instead, these studies consider the endocannabinoid system as a way of relaying pain signs to the mind in individuals with arthritis.
Rather than using CBD in these studies, some scientists use different chemicals that enact or suppress endocannabinoid receptors. From this research, CBD is assumed to have similar side effects to these chemicals because it impacts identical receptors.
The Arthritis Foundation prescribes utilizing low dosages of CBD. This is particularly significant for individuals who just started using CBD for arthritis.
A regular commencing dose ranging between 5 and 10 milligrams is recommended, and it should be taken twice every day.
If symptoms keep persisting, individuals can slowly increase the dose to up to 100 milligrams per day. If you don’t gain relief from using CBD for arthritis, then you might need to start using low THC products.
How to Use CBD Oil for Arthritis
Some different suggestions for utilizing CBD oil for arthritis include:
- Taking the product in the evening.
- Trying vaping or using a topical cream before edibles because the impacts are more effective.
- Being careful with products that contain THC, particularly if you’re still a young adult.
- Sampling various strains to accomplish the best outcomes.
One of the advantages of using CBD as an alternative to conventional arthritis prescriptions is that it produces fewer side effects. The results may vary depending on how you take the product.
Vaping CBD extract sends the product directly to your bloodstream fairly quickly. You may begin to feel the effects immediately, which helps relieve acute pain. Likewise, vaping CBD goes through the digestive system, allowing the body to absorb more of the product.
Nevertheless, the pain relief that comes from vaping CBD for arthritis doesn’t last as long as the effects of other methods of taking CBD.
Vaping CBD might prevent the body from absorbing it for about an hour. The effects last once it is in your system. Placing CBD under your tongue offers immediate relief, unlike using edibles.
Since the pain related to arthritis is frequently localized, applying a topical CBD remedy could mitigate this discomfort. Cannabinoid receptors in the body help produce pain-relieving effects quickly after using CBD for arthritis.
Studies support the use of CBD gel to help reduce swelling, intense pain, and inflammation markers. The results depend on the nature of the topical item, as will its concentration of CBD.
Some studies show that higher doses don’t necessarily provide better relief in contrast to moderate doses. Directly applying an affected area of the skin with CBD will deliver the best results while reducing adverse side effects.
Resources:
Resources:
- New Arthritis Foundation Guidelines On CBD Use Could Be First Of Many More To Come.Khaleghi M, et al. Altern Ther Health Med. 2020
- Stable prevalence of chronic back disorders across gender, age, residence, and physical activity in Canadian adults from 2007 to 2014.Angarita-Fonseca A, et al. BMC Public Health. 2019
- Dose-Dependent Cannabidiol-Induced Elevation of Intracellular Calcium and Apoptosis in Human Articular Chondrocytes.Winklmayr M, et al. J Orthop Res. 2019
- Efficacy and safety of cannabidiol followed by an open label add-on of tetrahydrocannabinol for the treatment of chronic pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis: protocol for a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled study.Hendricks O, et al. BMJ Open. 2019
- Music-Enhanced Analgesia and Antiseizure Activities in Animal Models of Pain and Epilepsy: Toward Preclinical Studies Supporting Development of Digital Therapeutics and Their Combinations With Pharmaceutical Drugs.Metcalf CS, et al. Front Neurol. 2019
- Joints for joints: cannabinoids in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.Lowin T, et al. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2019
- Patterns of medicinal cannabis use, strain analysis, and substitution effect among patients with migraine, headache, arthritis, and chronic pain in a medicinal cannabis cohort.Baron EP, et al. J Headache Pain. 2018
- Immune-related genetic enrichment in frontotemporal dementia: An analysis of genome-wide association studies.Broce I, et al. PLoS Med. 2018
- Attenuation of early phase inflammation by cannabidiol prevents pain and nerve damage in rat osteoarthritis.Philpott HT, et al. Pain. 2017
- Training and Practices of Cannabis Dispensary Staff.Haug NA, et al. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2016