Getting older is a fact of life. It has its benefits, like getting wiser and richer. But it also has its drawbacks, like chronic pain, for instance. Fortunately, in the 2020s, you no longer need to rely on toxic, over-the-counter, and prescribed drugs to manage your pain. Organic painkillers like cannabis and CBDs are growing in popularity as the natural painkillers of choice among both young and old.
Marijuana dispensary and delivery experts, Kolas, say cannabis has been utilized for centuries to alleviate all types of pain. Research proves that it is an effective treatment for chronic and acute pain naturally by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system.
With this in mind, what are some of the best types of cannabis to use to put an end to your chronic pain?
According to a recent report by Medical News Today, cannabis has been known to ease a variety of chronic pain types. These include pain that can be caused by inflammation and damage to the nerves. You can take cannabis via tablets you place under your tongue, topical applications, edibles, and more.
Researchers state that chronic pain affects more people worldwide than diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined. In the U.S., chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability. However, while marijuana products are being legalized in most states, most cannabis products still do not have approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA. It’s said that more evidence is required to prove their effectiveness and safety.
With this in mind, there are certain types of strains of cannabis that are available that appear to put an end to chronic pain, at least in the short term. Here are just a few.
Most Effective Cannabis Strains for Chronic Pain
Some of the different varieties of chronic pain-reducing cannabis plants include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Cannabis indica strain
- Cannabis sativa strain
- Hybrids of both strains.
Limited research is said to be available for the use of specific cannabis varieties for chronic pain and other physical symptoms. It’s because of this that strain-specific recommendations are not yet proven in the major medical establishment. However, a recent online survey that appeared in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that participants discovered they preferred the indica strains for sedation and pain management. Sativa strains were the preferred choice to boost energy levels and mood.
In terms of chronic pain management, the participants are said to have reported a statistically dramatic effect when utilizing indicia for the following:
- Neuropathy
- Non-migraine headaches
- Joint pain
- Spasticity
- and more…
Researchers point out, however, that the study bore several limitations, the main one being its limited scale. It was also anonymous, and participants were required to self-report their symptoms and cannabis usage. In other words, the respondents did not use cannabis in a controlled setting such as a lab which might have resulted in differing data in terms of cannabis potency, dosage, and composition.
How Cannabis Works on Pain
Certain compounds found in cannabis are said to relieve chronic pain, nausea, and other varieties of symptoms. But the ingredients contained inside cannabis that researchers focus most of their attention on are cannabidiol or CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
CBD vs. THC
Says Medical News Today, THC resembles the cannabinoid chemicals that organically occur in the human body. When you inhale or ingest THC, it is said to stimulate your brain’s cannabinoid receptors. It directly affects the brain’s “reward system” and therefore causes a reduction in pain levels.
Keep in mind that THC is considered a psychoactive compound when it binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain. It produces an elevated state which is commonly known as “getting high.”
You do not get high when you ingest CBD. However, it does interact with the brain’s pain receptors to exert anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. It also means you can use CBD safely while at work, for instance.
Medicinal and Synthetic Cannabis
Medicinal cannabis is engineered from unprocessed or whole plants and their extracts. It’s approved by the FDA and said to be trusted as an effective and safe treatment for two conditions in particular. They are severe and rare forms of epilepsy that include seizures for which other prescription drugs have proven ineffective.
Epidiolex is a medicinal cannabis that is said to contain a purified form of CBD. It was approved by the FDA in 2018.
More recently, the FDA has also approved several medications that contain synthetic cannabinoids that are referred to in medical circles as nabilone and dronabinol. The drugs are said to be highly effective in treating people experiencing pain and nausea due to cancer treatments. It also assists with increasing the appetite of people suffering from HIV.
Suffering from chronic pain is no way to go through life. If you haven’t yet tried a cannabis product to assist with alleviating some or even all the pain, at least for the short term, now might be the time to dive in. You have nothing to lose but your suffering.
