Marijuana Edibles Work Well For Lower Back Pain - Edibles Are Reliable For Long-Lasting Pain Relief
Lower back pain is a common health condition faced by many adults aged 18 and up. According to the World Health Organization, 619 million people worldwide were affected by lower back pain in 2020 alone.
Lower back pain can be challenging to treat. It can be caused by a multitude of factors, ranging from musculoskeletal causes, bad posture, an unhealthy lifestyle, obesity, injuries, stress, or medical conditions. Sometimes, more serious cases of lower back pain can be caused by fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoporosis, or other more serious conditions.
Prompt treatment of lower back pain is critical to improving one’s quality of life, especially if it coexists with other medical conditions. The lower back plays an important role in overall function and mobility, so without treatment, lower back pain can significantly restrict movement and affect one’s abilities to exercise and do basic tasks. In addition, it’s necessary to avoid complications.
There are several treatment options available for lower back pain, including physical therapy, medications, and perhaps lifestyle changes – depending on the cause. However, researchers have found that cannabis is particularly effective at targeting an array of pain conditions – including lower back pain.
Marijuana Edibles Good For Lower Back Pain
In a recent study out of Boulder, Colorado, researchers found that THC-rich cannabis edibles worked very well for patients who suffered from lower back pain.
Investigators from the University of Colorado at Boulder analyzed the impact of three edible products: high THC, high CBD, and edibles with similar amounts of CBD and THC. They were given to 249 study participants with lower back pain, who then consumed them for 2 weeks. The researchers assessed the subjective mood and pain intensity of patients at the end of the study.
“Pain intensity following edible cannabis decreased over time across all three broadly defined product groups,” they reported. However, the most significant improvements were observed among the patients who consumed the high THC edibles, while those who consumed high CBD edibles reported “short-term tension relief”.
“These findings support the short-term analgesic effects of THC and anxiolytic effects of CBD,” the authors concluded. They also added that the findings indicate that “…edible cannabis may be a safe and suitable alternative pain therapy for those looking to substitute more traditional pain medications,” they said.
What Other Studies Say
There is a growing number of medical literature supporting the efficacy and safety of medical cannabis for treating lower back pain.
A 2018 study from Israel focused on 31 fibromyalgia (FM) patients who had lower back pain. The researchers analyzed the analgesic properties of inhaled marijuana and compared it with opioids. The patients who were given inhaled marijuana with a low THC potency (under 5%) were treated for at least 6 months. Afterwards, these patients reported that they observed greater improvement in pain when they medicated with marijuana compared to just opioids.
They also reported an improvement in their range of motion after marijuana treatment though no similar improvements were observed with opioids.
“This observational cross-over study demonstrates an advantage of MCT (medical cannabis treatment) in FM patients with LBP (lower back pain) as compared with SAT (standard analgesic therapy). Further studies randomized clinical trials should assess whether these results can be generalized to the FM population at large,” the authors concluded.
Why Edibles Work Best For Pain
While there are many products and methods available to medicate with cannabis for pain, it’s no wonder a great deal of patients prefer to use edibles. Compared to vaping, smoking, and topicals, edibles are superior when it comes to long-lasting pain relief because the cannabinoids in marijuana edibles pass through the liver.
The result is a much slower release into the bloodstream, providing patients with 4 up to 8 hours of pain relief. Whereas, other methods may only provide one to three hours of relief.
Additionally, when THC is metabolized in the liver, it’s converted into 11 hydroxy THC. This metabolite is much more potent than THC and can provide more effective pain relief. There are other benefits to edibles, too, such as the fact that the onset is gradual and more uniform, plus it poses no irritation to the lungs. After edibles, sublingual tinctures and oils aren’t too far off; their effects can also last as long as 8 hours. Other alternative products include capsules and pills,
Conclusion
Marijuana products, particularly edibles or tinctures, have been proven to be effective in helping reduce the severity of pain while one is undergoing treatment for lower back pain. The analgesic properties of THC are well-studied, though CBD isn’t far off either; depending on the patient, THC or CBD, or a dose of both, can work well to reduce pain caused by a variety of factors.
After all, cannabis interacts with the endocannabinoid system to efficiently treat inflammation and pain while promoting homeostasis. While many pharmaceutical medications actually work well at numbing pain, they fail to address the root cause, which is inflammation. Thanks to the availability of THC and CBD products now, individuals can say goodbye to lower back pain.
Depending on the severity of the condition, and whether or not other illnesses are involved, one may be able to safely medicate with marijuana to help reduce lower back pain and improve your overall quality of life. Always reach out to a medical professional with experience in treating pain with cannabis if you have questions.
CANNABIS FOR LOWER BACK PAIN AT YOUR PHARMACY? READ ON...
