What’s the Deal with CBD and Chronic Pain?

CBD beverages

If you’re struggling with ongoing pain, you might be dealing with chronic pain. Unlike acute or short-term pain, chronic pain can be hard to treat and leave you at risk of pain medication addiction. If chronic pain is getting you down, then you might find an unlikely ally in the cannabis compound CBD. 

The problem with chronic pain 

Chronic pain can manifest in many ways—it can be mild or severe, continuous or intermittent. Chronic pain conditions include multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, or shingles. What we do know is that chronic pain is typically challenging to treat (1). 

How can CBD help treat chronic pain?

With pain relief often not making a dent in chronic pain symptoms, what options are there for patients wanting to live their life free from pain? 

It turns out that cannabis might hold the answer. A cannabis compound called CBD has shown a lot of promise as a pain reliever, and research tells us that it may help manage chronic pain symptoms (2). CBD has also been found to reduce pain levels in chronic pain conditions, including migraines, arthritis, and fibromyalgia (3, 4, 5). 

While some of these studies involve CBD alongside other cannabinoids, they tell us that CBD is a promising pain treatment option, and more research into CBD’s pain-relieving properties is warranted. 

CBD side effects

You might be worried about the side effects of taking a cannabis compound, but the side effects are minimal when it comes to CBD. In addition, CBD is not responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, so if you take CBD alone, you won’t get high. 

On the whole, CBD has a high safety profile. Mild side effects that you might experience include dizziness, reduced appetite, sleepiness, or diarrhea (6). 

The bottom line 

CBD shows a lot of promise as a pain reliever for chronic pain, although more research is needed to determine precisely how effective CBD alone is.

 

The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated the statements on this website. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your health care provider before use.


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