CBD for Pain Relief

Whether you’re experiencing daily bodily aches, injuries from sports or illness-related pain, you may find CBD is the natural solution you’ve been hoping for. In this article, we’ll explore all the ways consumers are using CBD to combat pain, As a local provider of high quality CBD products in Illinois, for distribution to wellness centers and rehabilitation practitioners across the country, we often get asked by new customers if cannabidiol and its related cannabinoids can help with pain management and relief.

As it turns out, pain relief is the #1 reason customers turn to Urban Apothecary.

Our customers tend to care deeply about what they put in their bodies and want an all-natural healing substance to assist with pain management instead of resorting to traditional medicine that can come with unwanted side effects.

What is CBD?

First, let’s quickly review what is CBD, in case this is your first time learning about this natural substance. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is extracted from the cannabis (or hemp) plant. It is non-pyschoactive and does not get you high. You can use CBD for many different ailments like insomnia, anxiety, autoimmune illinesses, seizures and more... but it is most often used for pain.

CBD for Chronic Pain

According to Frontier Pharmacology, “medical cannabis (CBD) is most often used to address the discomfort of chronic pain.”

Whether it be inflammation, back pain, joint pain, daily headaches, monthly menstrual cramps or radiating sciatica, studies are showing that CBD can be a source of relief from regular chronic pain.

The traditional approach to alleviate chronic pain has been over the counter drugs and, in many cases, higher strength opioids. However, the current opioid addiction crisis in America, along with the more adverse side effects of opioids, calls for more natural alternatives to healing pain without such detrimental side effects.

Luckily, recent literature surrounding the benefits of CBD for chronic pain has been promising. According to Upstate.edu, cannabinoids have been used in several experiments to demonstrate their effects on pain, and because of the results from multiple studies like this one, all states in the U.S have accepted cannabidiol as a legal solution to those suffering from chronic pain.

Some studies have even linked CBD to highly specific pain relief symptoms, such as chronic migraines. According to the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Amsterdam, CBD can be used as a treatment to address migraine attacks. In the study, participants were given amitriptyline, which can be used to help reduce migraine attacks. In the second phase of the experiment, they were given a combination of CBD and THC. The combination of compounds was reported to be slightly more effective than the amitriptyline, which is also a common anti-depressant.

If migraines, joint pain, muscle inflammation and other chronic daily pain has been preventing you from living life fully, feel free to read into these studies to find out if CBD for pain could be the right all-natural remedy to your aching body.

CBD for Injuries

Many of our retail customers are active athletes, participating in high impact sports like roller derby, running or high intensity interval training. And most of our wholesale customers are rehab and wellness centers - treating their patient's pain and injuries with the amazing, all natural benefits of CBD.

Athletes put their bodies in immense forms of stress which can result in pain and injury. Common injuries include sprains, tears, and even concussions. But we find that athletes are often also very health conscious people and don’t want to put chemical substances, like traditional medicine, into their body. For this type of individual, CBD is an alternative to explore.

But, you don’t have to be an athlete to reap the benefits of these medicinal properties. Whether you prefer to ingest a tincture oil or apply a CBD roller, CBD balm or CBD pain relief stick to the tender area, we have a variety of products to suit your preference.

Studies show that CBD oil can be a new substitute for anti-inflammatory drugs. When you’re working out and afterward, your muscles become inflamed and CBD can act to put the fire out with its properties to soothe those muscles and help you naturally recover from any injuries related to exercising.

Even if you’re not an athlete, you can still reap the pain-relief benefits of CBD to an injury, or just muscle soreness.

CBD for Illness-related Pain

Individuals suffering from illness-related aches have increasingly been turning to CBD hemp oil for natural pain management, such as:

• Fibromyalgia
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Shingles
• Endometriosis
• Epilepsy
• Sleep disorders
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Autoimmune diseases
• Lupus
• Irritable Bowel Disease (like Crohn's and others)
• Neuropathy
• Other conditions

Promising research on the effects of cannabis on fibromyalgia symptom relief may pave the way for more research for the low THC content found in full-spectrum CBD hemp oil.

If you are currently suffering from chronic pain as a result of an illness, consult your doctor. CBD may be a natural remedy to assist in your pain management plan.

How to Use CBD for Pain?

We offer a number of products that can help with pain, and will talk about each here. There are four types or four ways to use CBD products: inhale, ingest, sublingual, edible.

Getting CBD into the body's blood stream is the best way to relieve systemic pain and inflammation we see in illness-related pain like with lupus, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. While topical CBD application doesn't get into the blood stream, it helps relieve pain and inflammation on site - so great for a specific painful area on the body.

Inhale

Inhalable or smokable CBD is thought to be the most potent and fastest way to get the benefits of CBD into your blood stream. The potentially damaging effects on your lungs may be a deterrent for many people. Smokable CBD is also used in meditation and for rituals. Read more about CBD Hemp Flower in our recent article.

Shop our Hemp Flower & Herbs.

Ingest

Ingesting CBD may be the easiest - from gummies to snack bars - more choices are becoming mainstream. Some CBD may get lost in digestion (less bioavailable) but generally we suggest edibles when customers or their children don't like the taste of the tincture oil. Generally you will need more CBD per serving comparatively to sublingual consumption.

We currently offer several types of edible CBD including gummies (fan favorite), tea, water and more. Check out our Tea, Edibles & Flowers page to see what edibles we have in stock.

Sublingual

Consuming CBD under the tongue (or other mucous membranes) is the best option and what we recommend for chronic health issues. It is highly bioavailable since it is being absorbed directly through the tongue and gums. There are no health risks and it takes only a few minutes to start working.

At our shop, we bottle CBD tincture oil in concentrated strengths as low as a 250mg CBD oil and as high as 5000mg full spectum CBD oil For severe pain and a higher body weight, a stronger concentration might be in order. For chronic pain, our most commonly purchased is the 1000mg / 30ml bottle.

Start with a half dropperful which is about 0.5 ml. Drop it under the tongue and hold for 30-60 seconds before swallowing. From there, you can adjust up or down to help manage your symptoms.

Not to worry, if you start with a low dose of a lower concentration and feel no effect, you can follow the general guidance to increase dosage and strength gradually until relief is felt.

Topical

For fast, on-the-spot pain relief, apply CBD directly to the painful area. In our shop, we make several sizes and strengths for use in pain clinics, rehabilitation centers and massage therapy providers. It is a favorite from college athletes to senior citizens for its fast acting and ease of application.

CryBaby CBD Topical Pain Relief is made with our full spectrum CBD oil and is a favorite among athletes, sports trainers, massage therapists, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

Apply it to the painful area and forget it.

Made in small batches with our proprietary blend of CBD, Chinese pain liniment, and pure essential oils. Apply as often as needed, works within minutes of applying.

Our Topical Pain Relief comes in regular and extra strength and in various applicators.

Many customers prefer the hands-free option of the roller or stick. While some prefer the benefits of hands-on-skin to massage and work the product into the painful area.

Have sensitive or open skin? We have a calming pain relieving salve for that: Calm & Soothe Salve

Restorative CBD Bath Products

Forget the “shower beer”, instead try a restorative CBD Bath.

Made with full spectrum CBD, pink Himalayan salt, and pure essential oils. These all natural ingredients work together to ease muscle stiffness and pain, reduce inflammation, and help to restore your body’s mineral composition.

CBD Bath Soak

For a full bath, use one full pouch of our pain relieving CBD Bath Soak in a tub of hot water. Submerge your body up to your neck if possible for about 20 minutes. Use half for a foot soak.

CBD Foot Soak

Many people experience foot and ankle pain from repetition. Some examples are tendonitis, fasciitis and other pain and inflammation of the foot and ankle. Try adding a half pouch to your foot bath for concentrated relief on feet and ankles.