Chronic pain is one of the top reasons for medical cannabis use. An increasing number of patients are opting for this alternative treatment option to decrease dependence and use of prescription medications. Through advanced research and more political acceptance, the use of medical cannabis for chronic pain is increasing quickly. Get in touch with a Santa Monica chronic pain specialist today for more details.
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is unceasing pain within the body that lasts for weeks, months or years after the initial detection. Chronic pain can be caused by many different reasons including, arthritis, back issues, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, infections, migraines, surgery, and osteoporosis are more prone to suffering chronic pain. While chronic pain is seen mostly in the elderly, it can affect anyone.
Common solutions for chronic pain include treatment with opioids and synthetic analgesics (e.g., aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen) However, opioid treatment poses the risk of addiction and severe side effects. While synthetic analgesics aren’t addictive, they’re often ineffective and may come with toxic side effects, like gastric bleeding, ulcers, and the risk of liver or kidney diseases.
Other treatment techniques include electrical stimulation, surgical procedures, and nerve blocks. Sadly, many of those solutions are not always effective and may trigger bad side effects.
Due to the broad range of side effects from mainstream treatments, an increasing number of patients are choosing medical cannabis for chronic pain. Cannabis is showing to offer the relief patients require while decreasing adverse treatment effects.
Treating Chronic Pain with Medical Cannabis
In the past, cannabis was considered an illegal and dangerous drug with no medicinal value. But, views on the herb have been changing gradually over the years. Medical cannabis is helpful in treating chronic pain, and numerous patients say that it is a remarkable treatment alternative.
Scientists attribute the pain-relieving properties of the cannabis plant to its natural cannabinoids. The same properties are produced naturally by your body and are used in combating pain and inflammation.
Medical cannabis has been shown to offer relief for pain caused by a wide range of medical conditions, including:
- Arthritis
- Cancer
- Problems with the central nervous system
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- HIV/AIDS
- Multiple sclerosis
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder
- Painful injuries
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Neck pain
- Sciatica
Medical researchers have pinpointed cannabis receptors in the body that are situated in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. When inhaled, the receptors bind to the nerves regulating pain all throughout the body and dampen the body’s reaction to the discomfort.
The amazing part of the cannabinoids is their safety profile. No reports of a cannabis overdose have ever been made, and the risk of addiction is minimal. Most patients who experience difficulty monitoring their use of the herb suffer from other drug addictions.
Medical cannabis relieves pain very fast and gets rid of nausea that numerous patients encounter with opioid medications. It may be particularly helpful for the type of chronic pain that survivors of catastrophic accidents have to endure for the rest of their lives.
The major benefit of cannabis is that it is naturally pure without a continuous list of complex ingredients. It does not go through any processing, refining or chemical enhancements, making it a safer and more effective treatment option for chronic pain.