How Marijuana Helps in Relieving Pain?
Medical marijuana, including opioids, is a progressively more popular option to traditional pain relieving drugs. Marijuana can relieve some forms of chronic pain which are caused by inflammation or any nerve damage. Therefore, marijuana pain relief is now preferred by most of the people.
Today, more people are affected by chronic pain than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. The most common cause of long-term disability in the U.S. is chronic pain.
Most cannabis-based products do not have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and more research is required to validate their safety and efficacy.
Anecdotal evidence, however, indicates that marijuana or its compounds can help ease some types of pain.
There are distinct forms or strains of marijuana available, and each can affect the user slightly differently. In this post, we look to chronic pain management for the best marijuana strains.
Best Marijuana Strains for Chronic Pain
The marijuana plants contain:
- Cannabis sativa
- Cannabis indica
- Hybrids
Research on the usage of exact marijuana strains for extreme pain and different other symptoms have been limited. As a result, guidelines unique to the strain are not proven with medical evidences.
The outcome of a survey conducted online which included 95 participants were published in 2014 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The researchers found that participants favored indica strains for pain management, sedation and sleep while preferring sativa strains for strength and mood change.
Participants recorded a statistically significant impact with respect to pain control while using indica for:
- Neuropathy
- Non-migraine headaches
- Spasticity
- Joint pain
Though, it is necessary to remember that this research had many limitations. It was low in size, anonymous and asked people to report their symptoms to themselves.
Another research explored the use of organically developed sativa and strains of indica in treating various medical conditions. Slightly more than half the participants used marijuana to treat HIV.
The research followed participants for 3 years, and during this period questioned them about the drug’s effects on their condition. The findings showed that indica strains are more likely to increase strength and appetite while sativa and indica strains would relieve nausea to a similar extent.
How Is Marijuana Responding to Pain?
Marijuana has compounds which can ease symptoms like nausea and pain. Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the components of marijuana which most studies focus on for pain relief.
THC vs. CBD
THC is no different to those cannabinoid chemicals which are produced in the body naturally. When humans ingest or inhale THC, it activates receptors of cannabinoid in the brain.
This stimulates the reward system for the brain and reduces the pain levels. THC is a psychoactive drug as it binds to cannabinoid receptors and creates an elevated state of mind, called a high.
Although it interacts with pain receptors within the brain to exert anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects, CBD does not cause a high.
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**Disclaimer- This content is not the advice of a doctor; no product promoted herein is approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
