CBD seems to be in just about everything with claims that it can reduce pain, help you relax, help you sleep and even cure seizures. But does it really work?
What Does the Research Say?
So far there have not been many studies done on CBD. The limited research that has been done shows the most promise for CBD as a treatment for childhood epilepsy syndromes. The research that has been done on the effectiveness for treating pain have been limited but do suggest that it may reduce inflammation and help with chronic pain conditions but so far nothing has been proven to work with humans.
Even if it Does Work Pain is Not The Problem
Here’s the thing...even if CBD does reduce pain and inflammation, pain and inflammation are not the problem. Pain and inflammation are symptoms of a problem. Pain acts as an alarm or warning system. It acts to alert us when something is wrong or that something may be a threat to us. Touch a hot stove and pain will alert you that touching that stove will burn you. Inflammation is the body’s response to damage or injury. Inflammation is the first line of defense when we are fighting infection or a virus and is the first stage of the healing process when tissue is injured or damaged.
If there is a fire in your home, your smoke detector will screech to alert you that there is a fire. How would you react to the smoke detector going off? Would you remove the batteries of the smoke detector to stop that annoying noise? Obviously the screeching smoke detector is not the problem, the problem is the fire that is about to consume your home. Turning off the smoke detector does not put out the fire.
When you are experiencing pain, especially pain of a chronic nature, you must determine what the root cause of the pain is. If you treat pain as the problem your relief will be temporary at best.
What is the Problem?
The problem is the injury or damage to the tissue that is inflamed or painful. There are obviously all kinds of things that can result in an injury but what about chronic pain that never seems to get better or that seemingly came on without a traumatic event or mechanism of injury? Often times chronic pain can be the result of the way we move. When the body moves the way nature intended then the strain of moving is shared across the proper joints and muscles in an efficient way, minimizing the chance of an injury. If our body is not moving correctly then the strain of movement is shifted to an area that must compensate for the faulty movement pattern and this can cause an injury to the tissue or joint that is compensating. CBD oil cannot change the way we move and no one has made any claims that CBD can heal damaged or injured tissue.
Should I Try CBD?
So far it seems that CBD is fairly harmless. However, there still needs to be more research to determine if there are any harmful effects and to see if it really works at all. That said it seems that there is no harm in trying it. Often times pain can affect the way you move and can make the process of resolving an injury more difficult. So if it does seem to reduce your pain and it allows you to address the underlying problem then why not? Just keep in mind that even if CBD does reduce your pain you still have not addressed the underlying problem that caused the pain. But do not stop at using CBD. See a physical therapist who can evaluate your body to see if there is a movement dysfunction that may be causing the pain in the first place and work to restore proper movement patterns. Remember that to be well you must move well and move often.