Can Medical Marijuana Help With Chronic Back Pain?

Numerous studies have been made to back up claims about medical marijuana and its ability to help with chronic back pain.

Although medical cannabis is considered legal in 30 states, research revealed that people suffering from chronic back pain noted significant reduction of their pain symptoms after a period of time of using medical marijuana. This is why Florida marijuana doctors are now helping their patients gain legal access to potential cure that can let them say goodbye to their debilitating pains.

How Medical Marijuana Helps with Back Pain

The use of marijuana for pain relief is no longer news.

In countries that allow its medical use, marijuana is usually prescribed for the treatment of pain if other forms of treatments proved to be unsuccessful. In the United States, patients have cited chronic pain as the number one reason why they use medical marijuana.

Several studies associate pain relief and medical marijuana. How does it relieve pain, then?

The pain-relief or analgesic effects that medical marijuana is discovered to have is due to the presence of cannabinoids in the drug.

Cannabinoids are also believed to have anti-inflammatory effects and this is probably the reason why treatments for back pain using medical marijuana are found to be effective.

Cannabinoids are a group of closely related compounds that influence and bind to the human brain’s cannabinoid reception.

Some of the most common examples of these cannabinoids you have surely heard of before are THC and CBD. These two are different types of compounds with equally different effects.

Once these attached to the brain receptors, cannabinoids are noted to suppress signals of pain as these are sent to the brain. The anti-inflammatory properties of cannabinoids are also the possible reason behind their positive effects on symptoms of chronic pain.

Evidences on Medical Marijuana for Back Pain Relief

There are widespread anecdotal instances where marijuana is found to help with back pain relief and this is excellent news that cannot be ignored. But, it is a must to have scientific evidence and controlled studies to back up these health claims.

A study conducted in 2004 observed 34 individuals suffering from chronic pain resistant to treatments. Participants were administered with different medical marijuana strains and were observed for a period of 12 weeks.

Results revealed some substantial pain symptom reduction and THC-containing extracts were found to be most effective when it comes to pain relief.

A study in 2011 on the interaction of cannabinoid and opioid in chronic pain also showed that pain was substantially decreased. The conclusion of the study is that vaporized medical marijuana did elicit a pain-relieving and analgesic effect.  

A 2015 study by Kevin P. Hill, MD compared results from six clinical trials as well as their findings on medical marijuana’s effectiveness for pain relief.

With these evidences, Florida marijuana doctors assist their patients to help them enjoy the benefits of this treatment and live a pain-free life with no need to worry about any legal concerns.