You may have heard about the benefits of CBD as a muscle balm or for joint pain. But did you know that, according to a survey conducted by The Arthritis Foundation, 29 % of people with arthritis in America use CBD to help relieve their symptoms? Of those surveyed who use it, 55 % apply topical CBD creams on their sore joints. Taking this into account, it’s no wonder why so many people are asking themselves “Does CBD help with arthritis?”. In this post, we give you some keys.
Is CBD Good for Arthritis?
Unfortunately, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Around 58.5 million people suffer from it in the country, and there are many types that can cause different symptoms, so it is quite reductionist to just talk about arthritis as a single disease. However, for the sake of this post, we’re going to focus on rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the most common types.
CBD is a compound of the cannabis plant. It is not psychoactive, so it is not responsible for the ‘high’ typically associated with marijuana. This component is actually very popular among the Americans: 14 % of them use it, mainly to relieve pain. So it was only a matter of time before the scientific community started conducting research on the relationship between CBD and pain.
Several studies with animals have been conducted to clarify the effectiveness of CBD for arthritis. According to this research, CBD can help with pain relief, it is anti-inflammatory, and it can also help improve sleep and reduce anxiety. However, these are not conclusive, and more studies need to be carried out to scientifically prove that CBD helps with arthritis in humans.
How does CBD Help with Arthritis?
Some partial studies have been conducted on humans, such as a 2017 study that concluded that CBD might be safe for humans to reduce joint pain related to osteoarthritis; another study from 2016 found that the topical application of CBD can potentially relieve pain and inflammation.
These, together with the fact that many people suffering from this condition use CBD on a daily basis, gives us hope and make us believe that we may have found a very helpful tool for people suffering from chronic pain. However, more research needs to be conducted in order to get conclusive evidence on its benefits.
So, how does CBD help with arthritis? What is the science behind this? Well, there is a scientific explanation. Cannabinoids, such as CBD, interact with the receptors that influence pain and inflammation in our body, and some scientists believe that these receptors react to the presence of CBD by actually reducing both inflammation and pain. This may be the reason why many patients find relief when they apply CBD cream on their painful joints.
CBD Creams for Arthritis
Despite all of this, it is important to underline that CBD creams for arthritis are not a substitute to treatment, just an aid with pain and inflammation. In fact, if you decide to try CBD gels, you should talk to your doctor to make sure that it does not interfere with your medication. At the end of the day, the answer to the question “Does CBD help with arthritis?” for you will depend on your specific situation and the type of condition you have.
Most people using CBD creams for arthritis find more benefits than downsides, and don’t experience any kind of side effects, but you should always start little by little and see how it works for you.
In this sense, it is important to buy quality products that are lab-certified and safe for your health. With any luck, you’ll find relieve in our CBD massage gel that has a cooling and then warming effect, which is perfect for muscle and joint pain. We hope it helps!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us: we are happy to help.