CBD & Hemp Oil for Pain: Your Secret Weapon Against Chronic Suffering
If you’re wondering whether using CBD oil or hemp oil for pain can help, you’re at the right place. As scientific studies are showing, CBD oil and hemp oil are being used successfully for managing chronic pain and inflammation. Read on to learn more about these fascinating natural remedies.
Firstly, let’s clear the air on two products that are often confused, but which are both useful in managing pain: hemp oil vs CBD oil.
What Is Hemp Oil?
Hemp oil comes from the seeds of the Cannabis sativa plant. Although this is the same plant from which marijuana buds, cannabis oil, and other THC-rich products are made, hemp oil does not have any psychoactive properties because it doesn’t contain THC.
Hemp oil is the product of those strains of Cannabis sativa plants which have an extremely low concentration of THC – under 0.3%. These strains are called hemp, and they are legally industrially produced in the US since 2018. THC is the biochemical substance responsible for the mind-altering “high” associated with consuming marijuana.
Hemp oil is squeezed out of hemp seeds, and it contains trace amounts of CBD and negligible amounts of THC. Because THC levels in hemp oil are virtually non-existent (although research from 2017 showed that they can sometimes be considerably higher than the legal limit), it’s fully legal and safe to use, and it’s highly unlikely to trigger any psychoactive effects.
In fact, due to its high nutritious value and ability to moisturize without clogging pores, hemp oil has been used for decades as a dietary supplement and for making cosmetic products. Hemp oil has also been shown to be very beneficial for the cardiovascular system, the brain, and the skin, among other organs.
What is CBD Oil?
CBD oil comes from the same variety of the Cannabis sativa plant as hemp oil. However, CBD oil is not produced from the seeds, but from the flowers and leaves of hemp. This can be regular hemp plants, which have relatively low concentrations of CBD (12-18%), or, more commonly, hemp which is specifically grown to maximize CBD levels. After the CBD has been extracted from the plant, it is diluted it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil, resulting in the final product.
CBD oil health benefits are numerous – aside from treating pain and inflammation, it’s been shown to help with reducing general stress levels and alleviating symptoms of depression, insomnia, PTSD, addiction, and even cancer. More scientific research is underway, but the buzz surrounding the use of CBD oil is definitely not undeserved.
Although CBD doesn’t alter your consciousness, CBD oil can sometimes contain some THC. The FDA has not approved CBD as a medication for anything other than epilepsy, so the market is currently unregulated. This means that product potency may vary from that indicated, and that small amounts of THC may be present. Still, these are unlikely to cause a noticeable “high.”
How Can You Use Hemp Oil for Pain?
Hemp oil contains lots of omega-3 fatty acids, which are high in nutritious value, but have also been shown to reduce inflammation. This is why its topical use can help manage inflammatory pain. Hemp seed oil has also been found to be an effective antibacterial agent. This means that it may be used for painful bacterial skin infections such as those caused by Staphylococcus aureus.
On another note, the essential fatty acids found in hemp oil have numerous health applications. One kind, the gamma-linolenic acids, can assist the body in the production of prostaglandin E1. PGE1 plays a key role in two things that may cause a different kind of suffering – emotional. It is deficient during the premenstrual syndrome, and in men with erectile dysfunction.
Bottom line is, if you want some of the inflammatory management benefits of Cannabis sativa oil, but are against consuming CBD, using hemp-based cosmetic products or hemp oil for pain is a fantastic choice. It is natural, available and legal everywhere, and it literally has only benefits, with zero side effects.
How Can You Use CBD Oil for Pain?
CBD oil is basically hyper-charged hemp seed oil. The second most present cannabinoid in cannabis plants, cannabidiol (CBD), has a plethora of health benefits, some of which have been widely scientifically validated, while others are undergoing research as we speak.
Specifically to this topic, CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system, one of the key endogenous systems regulating pain sensation, which has modulatory actions at all stages of pain processing. The interaction of CBD with this system creates analgesic (pain relief) and anti-inflammatory effects.
A recently published review of studies of these effects conducted between 1975 and 2018 is the definitive resource attesting to the enormous potential of the use of CBD creams and CBD oil for pain has.
More studies are currently being conducted to understand the exact nature of how these compounds work in reducing pain and lowering inflammation, especially due to the fact that they seem to work where even the most potent pain medication doesn’t.
CBD oil and medicinal grade hemp oil can be both ingested and used topically. If applied topically, neither have side effects as they don’t enter the bloodstream. However, if ingested orally, sublingually, or vaporized, CBD oil can have a few relatively mild and infrequent side effects such as dry mouth, diarrhea, reduced appetite, drowsiness, and fatigue.
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CBD may also interact with certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, prescription medications, and dietary supplements. It’s always smart to consult your physician before taking CBD oil for pain to ascertain its safety.
However, overall, if you’re not opposed to using CBD products, and don’t mind dealing with potential rare and easily manageable side effects, we recommend CBD oil over hemp oil due to its higher medicinal value.
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We will describe some of the applications of CBD for managing specific painful disorders in the following section.
CBD Oil for Arthritis Symptoms
The anti-inflammatory action of CBD means that CBD oil will have direct benefits for all inflammation-based health disorders, such as arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and many more.
A 2016 study conducted on a rat model of arthritis reported that CBD gel was effective in reducing the pain and swelling in the rats’ joints. They found that the effectiveness has a hockey stick correlation with the dosage, and that the plateau already begins at quite low amounts.
Edible forms of CBD should be able to provide general anti-inflammatory benefits to arthritis sufferers, while topical solutions containing CBD oil can be soothing and healing for localized joint pains.
CBD Oil for Headaches and Migraines
Although there isn’t any CBD-specific research in terms of its effects on headaches and migraines, studies have shown that the use of marijuana reduces frequencies of headaches and the experienced pain.
Researchers behind the study review The Use of Cannabis for Headache Disorders strongly suggest that a scientific investigation be opened into the specific application of CBD for pain management due to its efficacy in treating similar conditions such as anxiety, its general analgesic role associated with its action on the TRPV1 receptors, and its ability to activate the 5HT1a serotonin receptor.
THC & CBD Oil for Cancer Pain Relief
Cancer pain results from inflammation, invasion of bone or other pain-sensitive structures, or nerve injury. If this pain is severe and persistent, it can often become resistant to treatment with opioids.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has reviewed many studies, one of which indicated that an extract that combines THC and CBD can be highly efficient in alleviating painful cancer and chemotherapy symptoms. THC extract alone did not induce significant improvements. This team later replicated the findings using a THC and CBD oral spray.
The Many Health Benefits of CBD Oil
As the research indicates, pain and inflammation can be effectively treated with both hemp oil and CBD oil. More than that – chronic inflammation in its many forms appears to be root cause of most chronic health issues plaguing the modern world today. This goes both for somatic and neurological conditions.
Hemp is one of the most medicinally beneficial and functionally versatile plants, used since ancient times. However, and although this is rapidly changing, there is still some stigma attached to the medicinal use of CBD, and even hemp seed oil, due to an independent substance of cannabis – THC – having mind-altering properties.
Luckily, after decades of cannabis-related stigma, governmental organizations are finally waking up to the enormous healing potential that CBD oil has for those suffering from chronic health issues. Research results are unequivocal and mounting, as failing to approve a medicinally valuable substance with no side effects is becoming recognized as entirely divorced from reality. We hope to see FDA approval of CBD as a medicine for the many disorders it’s being shown effective against very soon.
If you are in chronic pain and are tired of trying many “quick fixes” to no avail, then hemp oil and CBD oil or topical creams are definitely worth trying, and may prove to be your best bet to ease your suffering and recover faster.
Have you tried using CBD oil or hemp oil for pain already? What are your experiences?
If you haven’t, are you considering it? What are your concerns?
Please share them with us in the comments below.
what happens if i stopped taking the oil? is it a cure or a lifetime commitment to continue using or your pain returns.
Does a person give up medication already prescribed by a doctor or do you gradually reduce ?
Can you claim on income tax?
Thank you for such an informative article. You answered some questions that I could not find anywhere else. I have been researching CBD hemp oil for awhile now. I have fibromyalgia and I am looking for some relief.
Can hemp oil help with recovery of a broken ankle. Or this this a pain relief for the pain I’m getting from a broken ankle.