CBD & Sports

In this article, we will talk about CBD and sports, about the great strides that medical cannabis is making in the field of sports, also due to the dedication of several professional athletes, and about cannabidiol and the forms in which it can be found.

Physical activity brings many benefits to our body, but in some situations sports performance can deteriorate due to inflammation and pain that make movement difficult. CBD-based products have an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant effect and help to overcome these obstacles, reduce pain and inflammation and enable faster muscle recovery after sports.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol or CBD is one of the main cannabinoids present in the leaves and flowers of cannabis (Cannabis sativa). Unlike THC (tetrahydrocannabidol), CBD has no psychotropic effects and its consumption is considered safe. In our body, CBD interacts with receptors that make up the endocannabinoid system, present in the brain and nervous system, digestive system, epidermis and other parts of our body.

In addition, CBD can also stimulate other receptors, including those responsible for the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter known as the "feel-good hormone", and some receptors present in the liver. Finally, CBD is involved in the modulation of the activity of channel receptors - TRP channels - which determine the transient variations of the potential involved in the body's responses to pain and inflammatory conditions.

CBD – Muscolar Recovery properties

Regardless of how often you train, you still need to allow your muscles to recover between workouts so you can avoid injury. In the case of professional MMA athletes, the more time they spend training, the more ready they will be for the upcoming fight.

In fact, this is the main reason why many fighters end up using banned substances: these drugs allow them to train longer and recover faster. As a result, the support that CBD can give to muscle recovery is one of the most common reasons for its use among fighters.

But how does it promote this?

Every time we exercise, we cause microscopic tears in the fibers that make up our muscle tissue. The body’s response to this damage is to trigger an inflammatory response in the affected area, causing pain for a few days after the workout.

This inflammation is a positive reaction in the short term: it helps draw blood back to that area, which brings with it the nutrients and oxygen needed to repair the damage. However, in many cases, the inflammatory process lasts too long, slowing recovery time and forcing athletes to pause workouts.

In the worst cases, inflammation can lead to chronic disease. For example, former UFC champion Tyrone Woodley made headlines in 2019 when he claimed to be suffering from chronic arthritis in his hand at the age of just 37.

Let’s take a look at how CBD comes into play.

CBD has powerful anti-inflammatory effects that work to speed up the recovery process and keep inflammation from lasting longer than necessary. This way you can get back to the gym as soon as possible.

In addition to its anti-inflammatory effects, CBD is a powerful antispasmodic, which means it can calm the post-workout hyperactivity of muscle fibers, which is often the cause of tremors and contractions.

Nate Diaz, MMA champion, is a regular user of CBD: at the end of a fight, he showed up at the press conference vaping CBD, claiming, to a reporter’s precise question, that “it helps the healing process, inflammation and everything else. So, I smoke before, after the meeting, and during workouts.”

You can read the full interview with Nate Diaz in this link.

CBD and Pain properties

Although athletes try to avoid injuries, it’s really hard to avoid them altogether.

Opioid painkillers are a conventional treatment for pain, but they can cause addiction and a long list of unwanted side effects. CBD, on the other hand, has very few side effects and is not addictive. The most common contraindications encountered from CBD use are drowsiness and dry mouth, both of which are relatively mild symptoms that disappear along with the effects themselves.

Conversely, once you become addicted to opioid-based painkillers, it can take weeks to reverse the effects. Some people report digestive upset that persists for several months after stopping treatment, which is not ideal for someone who performs in front of millions of fans around the world.

CBD is a powerful pain reliever, releasing its benefits in two main ways:

By preventing pain impulses from reaching the brain: CBD activates a number of receptors in the brain and spinal cord (including, to some extent, opioid receptors) that work to reduce pain impulses before they reach the brain.

Reducing inflammation: as mentioned above, CBD is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Pain is one of the key factors in the inflammatory response. By reducing inflammation in the damaged area, we can actually reduce the number of pain signals sent to the brain as well. This is how drugs such as aspirin work, for example.

CBD and Sleep

A tired and stressed body is not in the best condition to achieve optimal results. Often, after long training sessions or because of everyday activities, it’s difficult to get a good night’s sleep and rest.

Lack of rest leads to physical fatigue and lack of clarity that spills over into daily activities and sports performance.

CBD is a substance that can relax muscles and make athletes rested. Deep sleep is necessary to have a strong body and recover energy, to face training and competitions with vigor.

Thanks to cannabidiol, athletes rest better, are more relaxed and vigorous. Their performance is certainly better, since it reduces the stress and the feeling of pain related to intense and repeated training.

Source: https://cbdcliniccare.com/