When a professional athlete or sportsperson is hurt, they must recuperate and recover as quickly as possible. Athletes and sports people have traditionally depended on prescription opioids to treat typical injury symptoms, including pain and inflammation. However, investigations have indicated that many athletes have suffered from opioid addiction due to these prescriptions’ adverse side effects. CBD has surfaced as a non-addictive, safer alternative to treating sports injuries. You can search for “cbd oil for sale” on Google, in order to find high-quality products.
CBD – What is it?
CBD is a chemical available in the Cannabis sativa plant. The United States has authorized a kind of CBD in seizure treatment. Cannabinoids are a group of more than 80 chemicals found in the Cannabis sativa plant. The most established component of cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD appears to impact some brain chemicals, although they are not the same as THC’s. On the other hand, hemp is a kind of Cannabis sativa plant with just trace quantities of THC. This hemp is used to derive CBD.
How Do CBD Works?
CBD, unlike THC, does not cause euphoria, but it does provide anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and alerting effects on the users. Humans manufacture gazillions of endocannabinoids every day. Scientists believed that endorphins and dopamine were responsible for the adrenaline rush. But now, they have ample evidence to support the claim that endocannabinoids play a crucial part in it.
CBD regulates many biological functions through the endocannabinoid system and affects mood and alertness (ECS). A 1990 research found that it is necessary for various processes, including sleeping, relaxing, eating, mood, energy level, and feelings of stress, hunger, and pain.
Common Sports Injuries
CBD for treating common sports injuries hasn’t been a common thing. It was introduced much later, and popularity gradually grew as results started to show. Some of the injuries that are part and parcel of any sportsman’s life are as follows:
- Sprains: It results from a rip, twist, strain, or sprain of one or more ligaments. Sprains usually occur when the knee or ankle shows pain, inflammation, and limited mobility symptoms.
- Achilles tendon injuries: The most prominent tendon in the body links the calf muscle to the heel. An injury to this tendon results in Achilles tendinitis, a common sports injury organization due to excessive running.
- Jumper’s knee: It is also known as patellar tendonitis and occurs when the tissue connecting the kneecap to the shin bone suffers damage or is inflamed. It is also a common sports injury that occurs due to excessive leaping. It can be seen mainly in basketball and volleyball players.
- Rotator cuff injuries: These are prevalent in tennis, baseball, or swimming, where the use of the shoulders is maximum. The rotator cuff keeps the shoulder blade in a stabilized position, but injury and inflammation occur due to irregular unnatural movements or overload.
- Runner’s knee: This injury results from overload due to repetition of the same movement in the legs. This injury is frequent among marathon runners and other athletes who engage in bicycling and running.
- Strains: When muscular tissue is overextended, a strain can result. Strains are frequent when lifting, sprinting, leaping, or changing directions fast.
- Tennis elbow: Tennis elbow occurs due to the excessive use of the elbow, which is frequent in activities like golf and tennis. Inflammation of the tendons causes persistent discomfort.
How does CBD help with Sports Injuries?
CBD can be beneficial to athletes in several ways:
● Pain relief
While there is worry about prescription pain pill overdoses, experts focus on finding safer pain treatment options. Cannabis is viewed as an excellent pain management alternative since it has a low risk of addiction and no deadly overdose danger compared to opioids.
● Helps in post-workout recovery
Sportspeople’s muscle fibers are microscopically injured after severe training. These muscles become inflamed and cause the body to respond by healing the damage, resulting in stiffness and muscular discomfort.
It can reduce inflammation and help post-workout recovery. Users can use it as a topical pain relief spray or cream or apply it as an oil on the muscles.
● Treats chronic encephalopathy
Concussions or other brain injuries can occur in contact sports affecting brain function. In short, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is a degenerative brain disease affecting athletes and people who have a history of repeated head trauma. A research article in The Journal of the American Medical Association (2017) stated that CTE was traced in 110 out of 111 dead NFL players.
● Energy restoration
Over the years, athletes have tried increasing alertness and energy solely depending on energy drinks, caffeine, or tablets. Like caffeine, CBD has minimal adverse effects or withdrawal symptoms, making it one of the ideal means to restore energy.
A paper published in Current Neuropharmacology(2014) claimed CBD to be a “wake-promoting agent. When CBD microinjections are given to the brain, they activate neurons that increase dopamine production and make a person attentive.
● Healing broken bones
One of the most commonly experienced injuries in sport is broken bones. According to research, CBD aids in fixing a fracture in bones by giving it a boost to the protein collagen available in the bones. According to a study, CBD aids fracture repair by increasing the protein collagen present in the bones.
Is CBD Safe?
CBD has minimal THC and is usually regarded as safe to use; nevertheless, see your doctor if you have any concerns. Also, follow any instructions or suggestions on the container or label for a safe dose. These experts can tell you whether it’s safe for you and interacts with any other drugs you are taking.
Remember that CBD is not a replacement for seeing a doctor or physical therapist when you’re wounded. Consider it a compliment to your medical and physical therapy treatment.
Is CBD Legal?
The board removed CBD from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned drugs in 2018. Except for Major League Baseball, most major sports leagues and athletic organizations still restrict the use of THC.
CBD may not make you test positive for THC, mainly if you utilize CBD isolate rather than full-spectrum products.
However, depending on the sort of test utilized, there have been cases of persons testing positive for THC after ingesting CBD. If you get CBD from an untrustworthy source, you risk it being contaminated or mislabeled.
If you are an athlete to be drug-tested, you might want to stay away from CBD.
Conclusion
The evidence for CBD’s usage as an adequate supplement to increase the effectiveness of remediation following training and sports-related weariness appears to be encouraging. Still, there is not good enough evidence to draw any conclusions. CBD seems to have anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anesthetic, anxiolytic, and pain-relieving qualities. These might help with workout recovery. Nevertheless, still, there is a need for more research into the outcomes of CBD as a physiological, muscular, and cognitive healing agent.