Cannabis and Pain Management: Does cannabis help with Chronic Pain?💯
In the United States, one of the most common reasons that patients report using medical cannabis is for pain management. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have conducted studies that prove cannabis can be beneficial in treating neuropathic Pain.
What is Pain?
Pain is a system or warning of a disease, a physically damaging sensation or discomfort we experience within our bodies. Though Pain can be described in many ways, it is our body's way of drawing our attention to something that may be going wrong.
Pain Management Specialists like Dr. Stephanie Davies supports the theory that musculoskeletal Pain can be categorized into three types:
- Nociceptive Pain
- Neuropathic Pain
- Nociplastic Pain
Pain types are not definitive categories but help determine the pathways most effectively for each individual when developing customized pain management treatment care plans.
Nociceptive Pain
Nociceptive Pain is an inflammatory response associated with any injury causing tissue damage. Nociceptors are the sensory endings on the nerves that can be stimulated to signal to the body that there is tissue damage. Nociceptive Pain is experienced when spraining an ankle, burning your finger, or accidentally hammering your thumb.
Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic Pain occurs when your nervous system is damaged or not functioning correctly. The spinal cord and brain are known as the central nervous system. The peripheral nerves throughout the body connect to internal organs, legs, toes, arms, and fingers. When the nerve fibers are damaged, the signals sent to the pain centers are altered and disturb function.
Nociplastic Pain
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines Nociplastic Pain as “pain that arises from altered nociception despite no clear evidence of actual or threatened tissue damage causing the activation of peripheral nociceptors or evidence for disease or lesion of the somatosensory system causing the pain.” Nociplastic Pain presents as changes in the functions of the nervous and immune systems. This type of Pain can feel magnified and spread throughout the body. Individuals may also experience poor sleep patterns, memory loss, fatigue, and a deflated mood.
How can cannabis help relieve chronic Pain?
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), cannabis can be used in place of opioids to bring relief to individuals living with chronic Pain. This is because THC and CBD are both cannabinoids contained in the cannabis plant.
Cannabinoid receptors bind to the receptors in the central nervous system. These Pain detecting peripheral nerves contain receptors that block nerve pain which helps regulate the body’s Endocannabinoid system (ECS), reducing inflammation and achieving a balanced state of homeostasis.
Cannabis strains for inflammation and pain relief
The alchemy of transforming cannabinoids from plant matter into highly potent prescription medication is a widely accepted growing trend.
An alarming number of evidence support the theory that cannabis is beneficial for chronic conditions such as Pain, inflammation, sleep disorders, epilepsy, schizophrenia, anorexia, autoimmune diseases, and neuropathy (just to name a few).
Some common cannabis strains that users have reported experiencing pain relief are:
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