Should You Consume CBD Oil to Get Relief From Pain

Studies show that CBD might help relieve acute and chronic pain. The best way to take CBD oil for pain is by sublingual, topical, ingestion and inhalation. You can take CBD oil for pain relief any time of the day or night, but six to eight hours after the CBD effect has worn off.

Like any new product in the market, CBD has gained much prominence due to its claimed health benefits.Taking CBD is becoming a norm as new products are introduced. The CBD market is booming because of few regulations on CBD products. The producers claim that CBD can help with health problems like pain, sleep, anxiety, and depression. The legalisation of hemp plants both in the UK and the USA has led to more research on cannabis. Unfortunately, most of the studies available are based on animal research. Read on to find out if you can take CBD oil to relieve pain.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a cannabis compound extracted from the hemp plant. It can also be extracted from marijuana but will be illegal because it will have more than 0.2% THC, which the UK government allows. The extracted CBD is processed into full-spectrum, broad-spectrum or isolate CBDs used to make CBD products like oil, edibles, vapes, and topicals. CBD oil is the most common product made bymixing CBD with a carrier oil. The carrier oil helps increase the bioavailability of CBD. According to Patel & Price ( 2021),bioavailability is the extent to which the active ingredient of a drug enters circulation.

Can you take CBD Oil to Relieve Pain?

Pain can cause discomfort and limit you from doing what you enjoy. Pain can lead to depression, fear, and anxiety, especially when an injury uses it. Painkillers can help relieve pain, both acute and chronic. Some painkillers are habit-forming, leading to dependency if you take them for chronic pain. You can take CBD oil to relieve pain.According to Vučković et al. (2018) ,  CBD has the potential to relieve all types of pain like arthritis, neuropathic pain, and back pain

Research on CBD oil for Pain

According to Argueta et al. (2020), CBD can help relieve chronic pain, but more research is required on the conditions in which CBD can be an effective treatment. They also call for more regulation to reduce the risk of unsafe products in the market.

According to Hammell et al. (2016) ,CBD can help improve arthritis pain by applying it topically on the affected area.

La Porta et al. (2014) concludethat CBD can help improve osteoarthritis, a type of arthritis.

How  to Dose CBD Oil for Pain

Dosing CBD oil differs from taking painkillers because CBD oils have different potencies, metabolism rates, and tolerance to CBD. Potency is the amount of CBD in a product, and knowing the product's potency helps to dose properly. Metabolism will determine how soon you feel the CBD effect, and tolerance to CBD will determine how much CBD you will take if you have taken CBD before,you may need a higher dose than those who have not taken CBD. The best way to dose CBD oil is to start with a small dose and gradually increase it until you obtain your optimal dose. You can also ask a physician to suggest a dose for you, especially if you are taking medications. CBD is known to cause interactions with medications, notes Rong et al. (2018);hence it is best to consult a physician before taking CBD together with medications.

When to Take CBD Oil for Pain

There is no specific time to take CBD oil for pain. You can take CBD at night or day when you are in pain or when the CBD effect has worn off. The CBD effect can last in the body for up to 8 hours, depending on the method of administration and the product's potency. After taking CBD oil, you should take it at least 8 hours before taking another dose, which will help avoid overdoing it. The body tolerates high doses of CBD but can experience vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, dry mouth, and drowsiness due to overdosing, explains Naheed Ali (2022).

How to Take CBD Oil for Pain

Topically

You can apply CBD oil topicals for the pain in the affected area's skin. The CBD will enter circulation through the hair holes. CBD is effective to the applied area. You can feel the CBD effect at least after 40 minutes,lasting a few hours.

Inhaling method

You can vape CBD oil by using a vaporiser or a vape pen. CBD is vaporised into an inhalable vapour that enters circulation through the lungs.The CBD effect is almost immediate and also short-lived. Inhaling CBD oil for pain is effective for a quick remedy.

Sublingual Method

You can take CBD oil sublingually by spraying CBD oil spray into the mouth or placing CBD oil drops in the sublingual layer. Hold them for at least a minute to allow absorption. CBD enters circulation through tissues and capillaries in the sublingual layer. The sublingual method also has faster results.

Ingesting

You can ingest CBD oil by adding it to meals and drinks or by taking CBD oil capsules. CBD undergoes metabolism before entering circulation. You can feel the CBD effect after an hour, depending on your metabolism rate. The effect lasts for at least six to eight hours.

Conclusion

You can take CBD oil to relieve pain, even though there are not enough studies on humans, the available studies show that CBD can potentially improve pain. CBD is used in all types of pain, including arthritis, back pain, and neuropathic pain. Dosing CBD oil for pain depends on the product potency, rate of metabolism, and tolerance to CBD. The best way to dose CBD oil for pain is to start with a small dose and gradually increase it to your optimal dose. You can take CBD oil after the effect of CBD oil has worn off, which is after six to eight hours. The best methods to take CBD oil for pain are topical, ingestion, inhalation, and sublingual.

References

Ali, M. R. B. N. What Happens If You Use Too Much CBD Oil?.

Argueta, D. A., Ventura, C. M., Kiven, S., Sagi, V., & Gupta, K. (2020). A Balanced Approach for Cannabidiol Use in Chronic Pain. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 561.

Hammell, D. C., Zhang, L. P., Ma, F., Abshire, S. M., McIlwrath, S. L., Stinchcomb, A. L., &Westlund, K. N. (2016). Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis. European journal of pain (London, England), 20(6), 936–948.

La Porta, C., Bura, S. A., Negrete, R., & Maldonado, R. (2014). Involvement of the endocannabinoid system in osteoarthritis pain. The European journal of neuroscience, 39(3), 485–500

Price, G., & Patel, D. A. (2021). Drug bioavailability. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Rong, C., Carmona, N. E., Lee, Y. L., Ragguett, R. M., Pan, Z., Rosenblat, J. D., ... & McIntyre, R. S. (2018). Drug-drug interactions as a result of co-administering Δ9-THC and CBD with other psychotropic agents. Expert opinion on drug safety, 17(1), 51-54.

Vučković, S., Srebro, D., Vujović, K. S., Vučetić, Č., &Prostran, M. (2018). Cannabinoids and pain: new insights from old molecules. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9, 1259.