Athletes Use CBD Oil for Sport Injuries

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Before you can use CBD for sports injuries, you may want to know more about this compound found in hemp. This will help you decide whether to take it or not before workouts and athletics.

There is a lot of buzz building around the use of CBD in skincare, and so does its use in sports and athletics. The federal law in the USA considers legal CBD use since the substance has less than 0.3% THC. Still, some states consider CBD use illegal. Lamar Odom, Megan Rapinoe, and Rob Gronkowski are some of the many professionals who are now endorsing CBD use in sports to flex muscles, curb pain in the joints, and fight inflammation. While the research about the effectiveness and safety of CBD use in sports injuries is limited, this article shares some meaningful thoughts about this cannabinoid.

What are CBD and CBD oil?

CBD is the shortened form of cannabidiol, a substance found in the cannabis plant. It forms the list of 100cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. A lot of buzzes have been building around this compound, including its use in skincare, and it might be hard to tell facts from the hype. This is especially true since studies around the use of CBD have not been conclusive. Through a process known as COextraction, CBD is produced from cannabis plants. The compound can then be mixed with hemp, coconut oil, or any other oil to form the CBD oil widely used by athletes for sports injuries.

Why do athletes love the use of CBD oil for sports injuries?

All over the world, athletes and sportspeople rush to the emergence room and topically apply CBD oil in the affected area in sports injuries. Some studies confirm that such topical application of CBD oil can help relieve muscle pain and inflammation. Of course, other injury remedies could help with such sport-related pains, yet people still go for CBD oil. This could lead to many questions as to why it happens so. Well, there are two main reasons behind this.

First, CBD oil can be topically applied to the affected part, and the individual gets relief from the pain. Rubbing the skin and massaging gently with the oil has been found to be effective at reducing the pain. Secondly, a person can still take other CBD forms such as capsules and gummies and feel the anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects of CBD. What’s the gist? CBD can be ingested or topically applied by sportspeople and athletes, and its benefits will still be felt.

CBD has no psychoactive effects

Although CBD is found in cannabis plants just like THC, it does not have psychoactive effects on the person taking it; it’s a nonpsychoactive means of relieving sport-related pain. Of course, research shows that THC can also aid with pain relief and inflammation but often result in negative side effects in sportspeople, sometimes affecting their performance. However, with CBD use, none of this is to be expected since the THC percentage in CBD is almost negligible (less than 0.3%). Besides, THC use is related to short-term memory damage, dependence, and others, none of which is associated with CBD. That’s why some studies suggest CBD use to help get rid of opioids and other substance dependence. CBD will never get a person high on use, and athletes can bank on this.

CBD Use: the side effects

The preceding paragraph has shown that CBD is relatively safer among other cannabinoids since it lacks dependence risk and does not affect the person’s psychoactive abilities. However, several studies were conducted in 2017, and they established that CBD oil use among some athletes had negative side effects. For instance, some athletes experienced unexplainable fatigue and exhaustion. In others, their appetite changed. Still, other athletes reported diarrhea, while others talked about having had changes in their weights. This shows that while CBD oil may be relatively safe for use, it can negatively affect a person. This information helps a person know what to expect upon using CBD and prepare means of handling the side effects.

CBD use and legality for athletic events

Because of its benefits in relieving joint pains and fighting inflammation, some athletes use CBD when injured or before a workout. Knowing the legality of CBD use for athletic events helps a person know what to do about the substance. Until 2018, CBD was part of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of the prohibited substances. However, in 2018, it was taken off the list. Still, most athletic organizations and sports leagues have CBD use prohibited. The Major League Baseball is the only top sports league that has legalized CBD use.

Some worries arise as to whether CBD use will result in a person testing positive for THC. While most test results are negative for this concern, a few studies show that taking CBD could lead to positive THC results. To avoid such, scrutinize the labels to ensure the product is high-quality and has not been mislabeled or contaminated since these are the main causes of THC positive test results with CBD apart from taking full-spectrum CBD products. Still, you can choose not to take CBD completely if you are often tested for THC.

CBD Use and drug interactions

After learning all you need about CBD use, you probably want to try it, especially to relieve pain. There’s still one more thing to it; some studies have established that CBD use could lead to negative drug interactions. This can be true for drugs broken down by the liver, resulting in changes in how the drugs are broken down. Therefore, seeking professional advice from your healthcare provider would be one of the best things to do before using CBD. If you are using CBD for the first time, take it in small amounts. As the body gets acclimated to it, you can gradually increase the dosage. Besides, why not explore other intake options such as topical application, pre-workout drinks, CBD coffees, or muscle balms? These, too, could be great and could offer the same benefits as ingestion.

Conclusion

CBD use is thought to be good for muscle and joint pains and anti-inflammation processes. Therefore, many athletes may want to try it as others already use it for pain relief. Before deciding to do so, learn about the possible side effects, drug interactions, and its legality in your state. Finally, start with small dosages, which you can always increase as the body gets used to the side effects.

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