Does CBD Help Athletes?
May 6, 2020
People who are in the athletic profession have to endure injuries and pain as a part of their work life. To relieve pain symptoms and inflammation, they depend on pain killer medications. Some of the analgesic drugs have associated side effects and some could even lead to addiction.
CBD proves to be a better alternative to conventional pain killer medications because of its ability to handle pain sensation in the body.
Research That Supports The Pain Relief Benefits Of CBD
Research suggests that CBD appears to be a promising medication that can relieve pain and reduce inflammation symptoms experienced by athletes who undergo intense workout sessions. THC also is a promising analgesic but it has some undesirable side effects that can affect the performance of the athlete and fail them in a drug test.
A 2004 animal study suggested that THC may impair the short-term memory of the user while CBD does not cause a similar side effect. 2018 WHO report indicates that CBD does not have the potential to be misused unlike THC, opioids, etc. Hence the worries about CBD turning out to be addictive are baseless.
Legality Of CBD For Athletic Events
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from the list of prohibited substances in 2018. However, THC is prohibited and even traces of CBD in the blood can lead to disqualification of the athletes. To avoid being tested positive for THC, choose CBD isolate over full-spectrum products. CBD isolate does not contain THC even in traces but full spectrum CBD contains less than 0.3% THC. Although the minimal THC content in full-spectrum CBD cannot give the users a high, it can lead to a drug test failure.
Taking contaminated CBD products of low quality increases the risk of drug test failure that can destroy the whole career of athletes.
Things To Know About Taking CBD
Despite the scientific evidence that supports the pain relief benefits of CBD, it is advisable that you take medical advice before beginning its use. This is especially important when you are already on a medication course because the chance of CBD interacting with it is more.
Unless you grow accustomed to CBD use, you should not try high doses of CBD. It is best to start with small doses and increase gradually.
The analgesic and muscle-relaxing properties of CBD offers post-workout relief to the athletes. Its sleep-regulating properties improve the sleep of athletes and help their body heal quickly.