What types of pain can we treat with Medicinal Cannabis?
Ever since cannabis became legal for prescription in 2018, a growing number of pain sufferers have been able to receive the wide range of benefits medicinal cannabis can provide. But what types of pain can medicinal cannabis help to beat? That’s what we’re about to look at now.
How does medicinal cannabis work?
When looking at the chemical components of cannabis, to say it’s complex would be an understatement. So far, we’ve identified 568 unique molecules and of these, over 60 are cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are chemical compounds that act on the body’s endocannabinoid system – which is the signalling system used to regulate various processes such as pain, mood and stress.
Two of the main cannabinoids you’ve probably heard of are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC can be effective in reducing nausea and increasing appetite, whereas CBD is an effective reducer of pain and inflammation.
What types of pain can be treated with medicinal cannabis?
Currently, there’s a low amount of evidence to suggest that medicinal cannabis can help with acute pain – this is pain that begins suddenly and is typically in response to an injury.
Conversely, with chronic pain – which is pain that is persistent and lasts for longer than 12 weeks – there are a growing number of studies that have proven how well medicinal cannabis can work to beat this type of pain.
A review on how medicinal cannabis can manage pain was conducted by the University of Belgrade in 2018. This review examined various types of pain which included:
– arthritis pain
– inflammatory disease pain
– cancer pain
– pain caused by fibromyalgia.
This review examined studies that had been conducted between 1975 and 2018 and the key findings of this review were that medicinal cannabis was not only effective in managing chronic pain but also didn’t cause any negative side effects.
In addition to this, we mentioned earlier the THC compound in medicinal cannabis can reduce nausea and increase appetite. Many people suffering from the side effects of cancer treatment, such as pain, lack of appetite and vomiting have found the combination of both THC and CBD in medicinal cannabis to be incredibly effective at managing and even reducing the negative side-effects they experienced.
More recently in 2021, a study of people in the UK showed that 86% of chronic pain patients found medicinal cannabis to be more effective than traditional medication, including opioids.
Would medicinal cannabis work for you?
As we’ve seen above, medicinal cannabis typically won’t be effective at managing pain that appears suddenly so you’re probably better with traditional pain relief such as paracetamol. However, if you suffer from virtually any chronic pain condition – medicinal cannabis can be used to treat, and even beat your pain.
Our Consultants specialise in using medicinal cannabis as an alternative to prescription painkillers, so if you feel like you’ve tried everything but haven’t tried medicinal cannabis, our team are ready to help you today.