Everyone has experienced back pain at one time in their lives, although for some, it’s a chronic condition. More than 65 million Americans report having back pain in the recent past, accounting for 8 percent of the population at a given point in time. There are indirect costs and repercussions of this problem including missed work, disability payments, and more.
In fact, back pain is the leading cause of work-loss days as well as any work limitations that have been enacted from 1998 until now. It’s more common than sickness or emergencies.
And it can be debilitating. If you’ve experienced back pain, whether injury-induced or chronically diagnosed, the pain can be excruciating. Once you’ve hurt your back once, you’re likely to experience a repeat episode, and you might feel like your life will never be normal again.
That’s why many people are turning to CBD oil for back pain. CBD is a derivative of the hemp plant with no psychoactive properties that can alter your mental clarity. In other words, you can’t get high from it, but you can enjoy a host of wellness benefits including the reduction of pain and inflammation. Let’s look at a few ways that CBD oil can help your back pain.
1. Inhibits Pain Receptors
The most obvious way that CBD helps back pain is by targeting the pain itself. Your body’s endocannabinoid system has CB1and CB2 receptors that pain signals to and from the brain. When they receive a pain signal, you feel pain.
CBD binds to these essential receptors and stops pain in its tracks. For mild pain, it can make the pain disappear. For a more severe injury, it will likely only dull the pain and make it bearable.
2. Brings Down Inflammation
Back pain is usually associated with a significant amount of inflammation. You’re feeling pain because the muscles in your back are pulling and knotting in strange directions. The tension on your muscles can strain or tear them, both of which cause significant swelling at the site.
For relief of this inflammation, there are few things better than CBD. As CBD binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors, it also inhibits the immune response associated with inflammation. As the swelling goes down, your body can get to work healing the pain site and potentially reducing or eliminating the pain found there.
3. Encourages Overall Health
According to research, one in four adults who experience back pain are in fair or poor physical health. Perhaps it’s something about their lifestyles that causes them to have back pain or maybe it’s a wholistic health problem. It could be that patients who are in poor health get less physical activity than those in good health, which contributes to back problems.
In any instance, CBD is a great booster of overall health. It causes something known as the entourage effect, which is a wholistic feeling of health. It simply makes a person feel good. A little boost may be all some people need to feel better and take back their health.
Your back pain may be caused by something you’re doing regularly or something you’re not doing regularly. One of the many benefits of CBD is that it can create a boost of motivation and focus that can help turn things around.
4. Cuts Down on Stress
Stress is one of the most common causes of upper back and neck pain. As you hunch over a computer screen, slump in your chair, or slouch in front of an intimidating boss, it puts excess strain on the muscles in your upper back.
Thankfully, CBD is one of the best stress relieving aids around. It immediately soothes your worries and helps you relax. Relaxed muscles could be all you really need for back relief.
5. Reduces Depression
According to research from the Canadian Chiropractic Association, those who experience depression are 60 percent more likely to develop back pain than non-depressed people. There could be many factors that contribute to back pain in depressed individuals including slouching, lying down more often, lack of physical activity, and other problems that can contort or weaken the muscles.
CBD can help to relieve some of the symptoms associated with depression, like sleeplessness, anxiety, and bad mood. It is better known for its treatment of anxiety, but those who have depression also say it helps.
6. Improves Sleep
Sleep is vital for your body and mind. While you slumber, your body performs essential functions like muscle repair. If you’ve been injured, sleep is usually the best medicine because it allows your body to do its work while you’re at rest.
Ironically, back pain prevents you from getting sleep to heal itself because the pain can be unbearable when lying down or even sitting propped up. But CBD can help on both counts. It can soothe the hurt while promoting sleep. Those who take CBD right before bed say that it helps them to drift off quickly, stay asleep throughout the night, and avoid waking up drowsy the next day.
7. Promotes Muscle Healing
Since muscles are at the root of most people’s back pain, it’s important to find ways to heal them. Not overextending them, getting adequate sleep, and minimizing strain are a big part of that.
CBD does not directly heal your muscles, but it can boost the essential functions in your body that do. It improves your sleep where essential muscle repair takes place. It can also cut down on stress and worrying that can cause slouching or strain on your back. From a holistic approach, CBD can be a root cause for muscle healing.
8. Treats Spinal Arthritis
Spinal arthritis occurs when the facet joints in the spine or the sacroiliac joints between the pelvis and spine become inflamed. It can also affect ligaments and tendons, causing excruciating and chronic pain.
CBD’s anti-inflammatory powers are vital for many individuals suffering from spinal arthritis. It reduces the inflammation while numbing the pain that can make the condition debilitating. For many arthritis patients, CBD is the very substance that keeps them sane.
