CBD For Pain Relief Guide – Is It As Good As Traditional Medications?

Since becoming legalized with the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp and CBD products, like CBD oil, have been running rampant with popularity. CBD, or cannabidiol, is extracted from hemp as an isolate or a full-spectrum product.

CBD been seen through a series of clinical trials, studies, and anecdotal experiences to help with a variety of symptoms, including anxiety, chronic stress, inflammation, and a wide range of pain management or relief – which is the subject we’ll be talking about today.

As social acceptance on cannabidiol grows, popularity for CBD oil and hemp products continues to climb. In fact, according to the Brightfield Group, CBD is expected to be a $22 billion industry by the year 2022.

While CBD oil continues to take the world by storm, a big question looms over the many still hesitant to try the all-natural alternative:

Can CBD be used as effective pain relief?

By many standards and studies, the short answer is quickly becoming a resounding “yes,” although more research (particularly on human subjects) needs to be performed before we have a guaranteed answer. For many, it’s an effective aid in their pain relief, and that’s reason enough for us to research it further.

It has been said that almost half of the people who take up the use of CBD Oil, stop taking traditional medications.

Even further, though, can CBD oil be used as an alternative to common painkillers, like Ibuprofen, or prescription painkillers, such as opioids and other narcotics? What kind of pain can CBD oil help relieve; what degree of pain management can you expect from a hemp extract product?

We’ve compiled a series of answers to all these questions and more about CBD. We’ve gathered all the tools you need for a collective guide on cbd oil for pain relief.

Not only is this a guide on the oil itself, but we’ll provide helpful advice on how to tell if you’re buying an effective product. You’ll understand the differences between a full-spectrum product and CBD isolates, what strength you can anticipate needing, and much more.

With all the duds on the market, this becomes vital information that you want ahead of time so that you’re not wasting your money on a useless version. Let’s dive into our definitive guide to CBD oil and hemp products for pain relief.

What should I know before trying CBD for pain relief?

Let’s start with the basics first: CBD comes from the hemp plant in the cannabis family. However, unlike marijuana, hemp has a very low percentage of THC, the psychoactive counterpart to CBD. Cannabidiol has no psychoactive properties, though it provides a level of medicinal properties seen from a variety of studies.

CBD products that are sourced, grown, cultivated, and packaged in the USA are required to have less than 0.3% THC. For any high-grade drug test, this amount of THC in your system will not be detected. Likewise, this amount isn’t enough to get anyone high.

In short, CBD oil is an effective way to get the medicinal properties that cannabis plants have without the risk of popping hot on a drug test or feeling the negative side effects that can come with THC; a win-win situation for many states where marijuana is still not legalized.

According to DISA Global Solutions, however, an unusually high amount of CBD being used can still result in a positive drug test, depending on the screening process. This large amount would have to be 1,000 to 2,000mg of the product.

How does CBD reduce pain?

Hemp oil is used for pain relief and a variety of other symptoms thanks to our endocannabinoid system, according to Mark Wallace, MD, at a Q&A with UC San Diego Health’s experts on cannabis. The human body has CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain, body, and along the skin. We also naturally produce our own cannabinoids.

Research shows that this endocannabinoid system might play a part in a series of important bodily functions. In fact, the cannabinoids we naturally produce for our CB receptors to respond to might play a role in the very homeostasis of the human body – which means sometimes, our bodies may not be producing the right number of cannabinoids for the job at hand.

Our endocannabinoid system is why we respond to CBD and other outside sources for cannabidiols so well. CBD fills our CB receptors which can block receptors for pain and discomfort. It can also improve your mood, reduce inflammation, and promote homeostasis in the body.

What kind of pain does CBD help?

This is one of the bigger questions: CBD can help with some pain, but can it help with my pain?

And the short answer is, we just don’t have a very good short answer for that question! Instead, we can provide you with the various studies done on a wide range of different types of pain.

Ahead of that, though, it’s important to remember that CBD oil isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of remedy. On the contrary, the strength that works best for you may be entirely too weak for someone else, or vice versa. Don’t give up on trying CBD if at first you don’t feel relief; you may just need to switch it up.

According to Andrew Weil, MD, CBD oil can be used for a range of health problems. On the realm of pain, CBD oil is effective for joint pain and menstrual pain. Furthermore, it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which can play a major role in being effective in other types of pain.

How long does it take for hemp oil to work on pain?

This answer depends greatly on the quality of hemp oil you took and the type of pain you have. As Sarah Brewer, MD, explains, CBD has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that reduce pain perception in the brain and improve pain and stiffness in the joints.

This means that CBD has a powerful combination of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects that can take anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour. It depends on the desired outcome, dosage strength, the type of product you used, and how you consumed it.

Liquid drops and oral sprays of CBD, for example, can be held in the mouth to boost absorption. When you dose sublingually, under the tongue, you work the CBD directly into the bloodstream much faster. You may notice the effects of the CBD in just a few minutes using this method.

Full-spectrum or isolates: what gives?

We threw around the phrase “full-spectrum or CBD isolate products” earlier, so we wanted to clarify – because as it happens, there’s a big difference in the two.

While hemp plants contain both CBD and some small, negligible percentage of THC, they also contain over 100 other cannabinoids. Depending on how the CBD gets extracted from the hemp plant into CBD oil, these cannabinoids can enhance the effects of the product.

A full-spectrum product means the CBD is purified and tested for THC, but the other cannabinoids are left to their own devices in the product as well. For many, this is the preferred type of product. For full-spectrum CBD oil, this means you’ll be getting a more robust, full-flavored product that potentially has greater medicinal properties than the isolate.

The isolate alternatives, on the other hand, are products that have extracted CBD down to the compound. You’re getting a product that has been purified through more rigorous standards, but this also means that the cannabidiol has been stripped of the other cannabinoids that add to its medicinal properties.

I spy an effective CBD product: here’s how you can too

Now that you know the ins and outs of full-spectrum versus CBD isolate products, it’s time to decide on the dosage strength. While you absolutely want to start out small and work your way up, you don’t want to get a product that will be altogether ineffective because of how low its strength is.

Likewise, stay on the lookout for synthetic CBD products. You always want to stick with pure, 100% natural CBD. You want to consume something from the whole hemp plant, not something synthetically designed in a lab.

You don’t have to guess in the dark, either – you can see a reputable CBD brand from a dud based on a few variables. Their website should have CBD/THC batch testing and their lab results should be readily available; in plain sight on their site.

Furthermore, the better their online presence, the more likely they’re a trustworthy brand you can find an effective product with.

As far as choosing the dosage strength goes, 2.5 to 20mg of CBD, taken orally, is recommended for some patients with chronic pain. Everyone is different, so start small and work your way up.

This is also a great time to mention that many CBD products have the milligram amount of hemp oil displayed prominently. If you look at the ingredient list, however, you’ll see the real milligram number for how much pure CBD is in the product.

While the other cannabinoids do play a role in the medicinal properties of the product, you should focus on the amount of pure CBD in the product to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth.

Types of hemp products

While we’ve mostly been discussing CBD oil, there are a slew of hemp products available to the public ever since the 2018 Farm Bill enabled access nationwide. As we come to a close in our definitive guide to hemp and CBD oil, we want to open your eyes to other CBD products you may not be aware of, and how to use them.

CBD oil doesn’t have to just be taken orally, for example. On the contrary, there are salves, body oils, and other topical treatments that you can apply directly to an affected area. This is particularly useful for those that experience inflammation; many with arthritis and other joint pains rave anecdotal success when using the products for their ailment.

Likewise, CBD oil can be vaped. The effects, like smoking, are almost immediate. While tinctures and other oils you dose on your tongue take only a few minutes to kick in, vaping can provide an almost-immediate and similarly intense effect.

Some want to avoid oil altogether, which is where CBD edibles and infused drinks have started to shine. In fact, CBD oil can be used in dishes and recipes to disguise the flavor and taste. For those that want to avoid the taste of cannabis but still want to experience its pure benefits, edibles is a viable option to take.

Finally, regular flower is legal now even in some states where medical or recreational marijuana is not yet legal. In states like Texas, for example, you can smoke THC-free CBD cannabis that’s available in various smoke shops and even a few dispensaries. Not only does this open the door for further legalization, but it also opens the options at your disposal to consume hemp.

Conclusion

Remember, CBD isn’t a cure-all medicine that can fix your chronic pain issues or make you better. More research needs to be performed on bigger groups of human participants for us to have guaranteed answers on the all-natural alternative that is sweeping the nation.

However, you are now strapped with the knowledge you need to combat the duds on the market attempting to sell ineffective CBD products.

With the right CBD oil or other hemp product, you can find an aid to complement your current pain regimen, add to your daily routine, or altogether replace the current painkillers you find yourself using. Everyone is different, and we now know how to weed out the strengths that won’t help.

We’ve discussed the difference between full-spectrum and CBD isolate products, the differences between marijuana and hemp plants, the kind of pain CBD helps, and much more. Cannabidiol is an effective substance for some in reducing pain, and the amount of time it takes before you can expect results vary from person to person and product to product.

We hope with this information, you feel prepared to get the proper and effective CBD oil for your specific needs. Whether you need it for some type of pain management, intense pain relief, or another symptom altogether, you are equipped with the knowledge to find the best product for the job.

If you want to know more about how to use CBD oil for pain management, peek over at this informative video on how to dose sublingually and how it plays a role as a non-addictive pain relief alternative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cWU7lbuu_E

Check Out Our Top 10 CBD Creams For Pain Here