The marijuana component CBD can help patients manage chronic pain even at low dosages, making it “a promising alternative to conventional pain management strategies,” according to new research.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Cureus, drew from responses to a survey posted on social media and in multiple medical clinics. Key findings, authors wrote, “are that the use of cannabinoids is positively associated with decreased chronic pain, even at low dosages (<100 mg).”
Most patients reported no side effects, while those who did reported only mild effects, the report says. No severe side effects were reported.
“These findings suggest that CBD may serve as a promising alternative to conventional pain management strategies,” the study concludes. “We believe these data point the way for new and continued avenues of research that can better optimize treatment regimens and help patients with chronic pain.”
The survey included 121 adults aged 21 and older who self-reported as having chronic pain, defined as pain lasting six months or longer. Questions involved demographics, patients’ perceptions of CBD’s effectiveness, dosage, frequency of use and side effects.
Authors wrote that they set out “to further explore this topic and add to the literature with the aim of asking chronic pain patients who use CBD for pain relief about their perceived benefits and side effects of CBD.”
Respondents were an average age of 37 years, and 61.2 percent were male. Most—100 people—said their pain had lasted two years or longer, while 21 said their pain had lasted 23 months or less.
As for causes of pain, the most common were arthritis (15.7 percent), disc herniation (14.9 percent), fibromyalgia (7.4 percent), headache or migraine (6.6 percent) and neuropathy (6.6 percent). Participants could select multiple responses.
Subjects were asked to rate their baseline level of chronic pain before CBD use on a scale from 1 to 10, as well as their pain level after beginning treatment.
“The average baseline level of chronic pain across participants before CBD was 5.4 ± 1.8,” the report says, “which decreased to 2.6 ± 1.7 (p < 0.0001, n = 121) after CBD, which is a decrease of 2.8 ± 1.7.”
Improvement was reported by 98.3 percent of subjects, while the remainder (1.7 percent, or two participants) reported no improvement at all. Three subjects “reported complete resolution of their baseline chronic pain after CBD,” according to the research.
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