Hemp oil, or CBD oil, has become one of the single most popular medicinal compounds in the world.
Why?
A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that it has an incredible list of benefits. Most notably, researchers have found that CBD-rich hemp oil can relieve pain, reduce inflammation, ease stress, and even enhance your immune system.
All of which can make a huge difference with painful or stiff joints. Not to mention that these benefits can improve your overall health as well.
Read More: The 5 Best Hemp Oil Products Reviewed
How Hemp Oil Benefits Arthritis & Joint Pain
While arthritis and joint discomfort can have several different causes, the symptoms remain the same. If you’re reading this, you’re probably all too familiar with them…
Your joints are painful, stiff, sore, and difficult to move. It’s a constant thorn in your side.
Luckily, you can find significant relief if you can manage the pain and control the inflammation.
And that’s exactly what a CBD-rich hemp oil does, according to the latest scientific research.
Still not convinced? Here’s a deep dive into why CBD oil shows great promise for relieving joint discomfort…
CBD May Be a Powerful Analgesic
One study suggested that the CBD in hemp oil reduces pain by stimulating the adenosine receptor A2A (1). When this receptor is stimulated, evidence suggests it strongly inhibits the sensation of pain (2).
Another study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine found that CBD suppresses neuropathic pain in rodents (3). Neuropathic pain is a chronic (constant) type of pain that’s often caused by tissue damage.
Since joint pain is often chronic and caused by damaged joints, hemp oil is a perfect match. One scientific review even stated that the “use of cannabis-based medications [like hemp oil] deserves serious consideration to alleviate the suffering of patients due to severe pain.” (4)
The Bottom Line: The CBD in hemp oil may help dull the pain associated with arthritis or achy joints by stimulating the adenosine receptor A2A.
Hemp Oil Soothes Inflammation
Another obstacle to arthritis and joint pain is inflammation.
Not only does inflammation worsen joint pain, it also can make your joints stiffer and more immobile (5).
In fact, when most people look for arthritis and joint pain relief, they end up taking an anti-inflammatory drug such as Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Aleve (6).
Sure, these drugs provide relief, but they come with some nasty side effects if you take them too often.
Research has found that hemp oil is an effective way to control inflammation without the undesirable side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.
One study, for example, found that CBD can modulate the body’s inflammatory response by promoting apoptosis in activated immune cells while simultaneously suppressing pro-inflammatory cell activity (7)
CBD-rich hemp oil also contains other cannabinoids that have anti-inflammatory properties, which build on the effects of CBD. Cannabichromene, for instance, is a cannabinoid that is shown to have potent anti-inflammatory properties (8).
If you’re looking for other ways to fight inflammation, consider these potent anti-inflammatory herbs.
The Bottom Line: Research suggests the CBD in hemp oil can reduce inflammation by modulating the activity of specific immune cells.
Hemp Oil Balances the Immune System
Sometimes joint issues can be caused by an overactive immune system that mistakenly attacks your body’s own tissues. This is what’s called rheumatoid arthritis, a type of autoimmune disease (9).
If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, some research suggests that it hemp oil could provide significant relief.
That’s because CBD has a unique effect on the immune system. It doesn’t boost or suppress the immune system. Instead, CBD (hemp) oil balances it.
Specifically, researchers have found that CBD can help balance and alleviate TH17-dominant autoimmune diseases (10).
TH17-dominant autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto’s, Graves, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Since CBD is also an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, it could also slow down the proregression of rheumatoid arthritis, which can cause permanent damage to your joints over time (11). But there are currently no studies to support this correlation, so more research is needed to confirm.
The Bottom Line: Researchers have found that CBD oil can help relieve TH17-dominant autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
How to Use Hemp Oil for Arthritis & Joint Pain
When it comes to selecting a CBD oil for joint pain, you’re faced with two options: get CBD orally through a hemp oil (I highly recommend this brand) or get a CBD balm that you can directly apply to your sore joints.
Both options are great. But since everyone is different, some people experience better results with the oral hemp oil whereas others have better luck with the topical balm.
To get the most relief, I like to use both at the same time.
For dosage, it’s usually wise to start with the recommendations on the packaging. Once you have a feel for how you react, you can increase or decrease your dosage accordingly.
Don’t forget to consult your doctor before taking any supplement including hemp oil. That way you can work out the best dosage for you and make sure it won’t conflict with any medications you’re taking.
The Bottom Line: To use hemp oil for joint pain, experiment with
Selecting the Best CBD-Rich Hemp Oil
Selecting the right hemp oil for arthritis or joint pain can be a real challenge. There are different delivery methods, formulas, carrier oils, extraction processes, potencies, and so on.
It can really make your head spin.
As a general rule of thumb, you want to get your CBD through a quality hemp oil product. Unlike CBD isolates, hemp oil contains other beneficial compounds that synergize with the CBD to make it more effective.
Furthermore, you should make sure the product is
- Safe (free of harmful contaminants)
- Organic
- Bioavailable so your body can absorb it
- Rich in CBD
If you don’t want to dive deep into the research yourself, Hemp and Soothe are two products I recommended in the section above. They both meet all the criteria for a high-quality CBD supplement.
The Bottom Line: When selecting a CBD oil product, make sure it’s bioavailable, organic, free of contaminants, and rich in CBD. This will ensure the best possible results.
Summary
Suffering from arthritis or joint discomfort can make life a chore. It causes you to be in constant pain, it prevents you from enjoying anything that involves physical activity, and it is just a plain nuisance.
This is why so many people take anti-inflammatory drugs like they’re candy. Because they want to live a pain-free life.
The problem is, the long-term use of these drugs can exacerbate several chronic diseases such as heart disease or even lead to stomach damage and ulcers (12).
To get away from these side-effects, many arthritis and joint pain sufferers have looked to hemp oil for relief.