People have been using cannabis for centuries for its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, and arthritis is among the conditions that can be relieved by using this plant. Even doctors recommend patients with this health condition take cannabis products where it’s legal, and the usage of CBD for arthritis has been gaining popularity over the years to reduce pain and inflammation.
So in this article Canna Quick Shop experts will talk about arthritis, learn more about different types, and take a closer look at the CBD compound of the cannabis plant to figure out its health benefits, especially when it comes to arthritis treatment.
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a common health condition that many people struggle with, causing joint damage and disability by inflammation or swelling joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and tenderness, and it can’t be fully cured, that’s why arthritis treatment is focused on the reducing of symptoms.FF
When you look for “What is Arthritis?” on the internet, you can find various types of that disease, including Osteoarthritis (OA), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Fibromyalgia, Gout, and Childhood Arthritis, and it’s necessary to know how to deal with it and reduce the symptoms of that disease for the better quality of life.
Understanding the Different Types of Arthritis.
As it was already mentioned, there are five main types of arthritis, affecting people of different ages and causing decreased range of motion, swelling, stiffness, and pain.
- Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common types of arthritis, and it can damage any joint, but most people with that disease note pain in knees, hips and spine.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can affect more than just joints, causing damage to skin, lungs, and even blood vessels, that can result in bone erosion and joint deformity.
- Fibromyalgia also causes cognitive difficulties, besides pain throughout the body, and people note sleeping problems and fatigue.
- Gout is characterized by severe attacks of pain that often occur suddenly at night, and most people experience their first flares in one of the big toes.
- People with Childhood Arthritis struggle with doing everyday things like walking, and it can result in disability, but children can achieve permanent remission.
What is CBD?
Many people wonder what is CBD and why it’s so commonly used to treat various health conditions. CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the most prevalent active ingredients in the marijuana plant, and it’s mostly extracted from hemp, since the CBD content there is higher than THC. It’s an essential component of medicinal marijuana, since it’s responsible for many health benefits, according to various studies. Patients with such health conditions as anxiety, depression, and arthritis turn to cannabis CBD products like tinctures, pills, and creams to cope with the symptoms, and it’s shown good health potential. As for the topicals with CBD, they seem to provide the best effects for people with different types of arthritis because of the localized influence on the joints and reducing targeted discomfort and pain, but other CBD products also provide general pain relief and inflammation.
How CBD Can Help Treat Arthritis?
It’s not a secret that medical marijuana makes people with various health conditions feel better and reduce pain, and it’s mostly because of the CBD component.
The usage of CBD for arthritis has been a topic of debate for many years, and The European Journal of Pain suggests the health benefits of CBD in lowering pain and inflammation. It’s been showing good results for people coping with arthritis, answering the question is CBD good for arthritis. Even though there’s no enough research on the effects of CBD products on humans, various animal studies show the beneficial properties of CBD in providing pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects, and many patients state that cannabis actually helps them feel better and forget about pain in joints, especially after using products with high CBD content.
So arthritis CBD treatment definitely has a place to be. However, it’s important to note that such a treatment should be considered only after other medical treatments of arthritis haven’t shown any result. Also, it’s better to consult with a healthcare professional before switching your medication to make sure that it can actually be a good solution for you.
How CBD Reduce Arthritis Pain?
The CBD component of cannabis affects a variety of biological processes in the body, including the endocannabinoid system. It’s responsible for our perception of pain, so while taking CBD products or applying them to the skin, it provides pain relief. But it’s worth mentioning that the form of CBD also plays a huge role, and many people note that topicals have the best health properties while coping with pain in joints, and you need to keep other factors in mind, such as your sleeping cycle, your weight, and even your eating habits.
What is better for arthritis pain CBD or THC
As you may know, there are more than one compound in marijuana, and besides CBD, you can also find THC there. This component is responsible for the euphoric high that many people associate with smoking marijuana, and many studies show that CBD is actually responsible for easing the pain at the local source. Even though THC can change the way the mind perceives pain, in high amounts, it can lead to undesired side effects, making the condition worse, so it’s better to take CBD products to get the pain relief and reduced inflammation.
Are there any side effects of CBD to be aware of?
Unlike THC with physical or mental impairment, CBD doesn’t have so many side effects, but it’s worth mentioning that some people can experience reduced appetite, drowsiness, and fatigue. In general, the effects of taking CBD products depend on a person, and some people may experience side effects while taking lower amounts of CBD than others. However, if you take them responsibly, the chances of struggling with something like that decrease. Also, CBD products can interact with other medications, so it’s necessary to consult with a healthcare specialist before adding CBD to your treatment.
Ways to use CBD for Arthritis Pain Treatment
- Using CBD for Osteoarthritis
If you’re thinking about using CBD for Osteoarthritis, you need to make sure that none of the other medications you take interact with CBD products, and consulting with your doctor is highly important in that case.
According to patients with this type of arthritis, taking CBD products actually helps them reduce pain of osteoarthritis with minimal side effects. Applying topicals with high CBD content is one of the most effective methods to cope with pain in joints caused by osteoarthritis, and it can reduce acute, inflammatory changes in your joints.
- Using CBD for Rheumatoid Arthritis
When using CBD for Rheumatoid Arthritis, many people note that the anti-inflammatory benefits actually help slow down or even stop the development of RA. Also, since RA affects the immune system and attacks the tissue in your joints, taking CBD can have a positive effect on your health by affecting the brain receptors responsible for your immune system. And CBD products also relieve anxiety and sleep disturbances that patients with RA experience pretty often because of the pain, so it’s another reason to consider adding CBD to the arthritis treatment.
- Using CBD Oil & Creams to Treat Arthritis
Among the most effective ways of coping with pain and inflammation, many people using CBD for arthritis note topicals to be the best for reducing the symptoms. CBD oil taken orally can reduce general pain, but you should also consider using CBD cream to affect the pain locally and provide you with the effect as soon as possible. Using CBD cream for arthritis pain can be a good solution, and if you decide to use CBD oil for arthritis, you won’t be disappointed as well since it can also be used in many ways, thanks to its versatility.
Conclusion
The rewards of using CBD products to cope with the symptoms of different types of arthritis are quite promising, since such products affect receptors in the brain and immune system, responsible for the pain related with arthritis. Of course, more research is necessary to fully understand the health benefits of CBD products on our body and the brain, but according to patients with arthritis, such products actually help them improve the quality of their lives by reducing pain and inflammation in joints. So if you’re struggling with something like that as well, it’s worth consulting with a healthcare specialist to find the best form of CBD, the right dosage, and implement it into your current treatment the best way, without any side effects and undesired consequences. But keep in mind that you shouldn’t expect promising results after turning to cannabis treatment yourself, avoiding professional help.