While there are many studies and research that need to be done on the true effectiveness of CBD, sports stars and athletes in general are taking note of the benefits that CBD can bring when wanting to enhance performance and recovery.
How CBD helps to relieve pain
From the research that has been done into CBD, there’s many who are finding the relief and comfort that it provides when dealing with pain.
For athletes, pain and inflammation can be a part and parcel of the sport they’re known for. Intense exercises can often result in overworked muscles and damage to areas of the body that send the brain’s receptors into overdrive.
While THC is useful for treating pain, the psychedelic effect it provides is not typically helpful to an athlete’s performance. In fact, it’s more likely to hinder the performance, than to help it.
With CBD, there’s no THC content, which means athletes can avoid the high but get all of the benefits that these cannabinoids would otherwise offer.
The World Health Organization has even chimed in on the subject of CBD and has said that the potential for misuse of CBD is minimal, meaning athletes can benefit without using it as a potential to cheat or have an advantage over other competitors.
The potential side effects of CBD
Of course, when you’re taking anything for medicinal purposes, whether it be an FDA-approved drug or otherwise, there are likely to be side effects. It’s useful knowing these side effects, especially as an athlete as it may influence your ability to play the sport.
Some people will experience different side effects, while others won’t experience anything. What you experience will depend on how your body reacts to CBD, especially during the first few times you take it. Typical side effects that should be of little to no concern are:
- Fatigue
- Changes in weight
- Changes in appetite
- Diarrhea
The side effects are fairly limited, which is always a good thing. However, it’s important to be mindful of how severe the side effects are and if you’re experiencing anything unusual or more severe than what is relatively normal, then you should seek medical help and stop taking CBD until further guidance is given by a professional.
The legalities around using them in sport
CBD was until recently, on the World Anti-Doping Agency list. However, in 2018, CBD was removed from the list of prohibited substances.
It’s important to note though that when it comes to major sports leagues and athletic organizations, the use of THC is still strictly prohibited. It means that when drug tested if THC is found in your system, it could be detrimental to your career or anything you have partaken in.
That’s why it’s more appropriate to go down the route of trying CBD to help with athletic performance and recovery. If you’re taking CBD-isolated products, then chances are, THC won’t be found in your system.
It’s always worth checking the CBD products you’re taking so that you can be assured that THC won’t show up in any drug testing when taking part in a sport. If you have to be drug tested, it might be something that you avoid or at least discuss prior with those who are part of the drug test process.
How CBD helps athletes
For those athletes who want to consume CBD on a regular basis, how does it benefit them? What are the advantages of using it when it comes to performance and/or recovery?
It’s worth noting that cannabinoids are already in existence within our bodies. This is your endocannabinoid system or ECS for short. It’s responsible for influencing your mood, your immune functions as well as your sleep.
The research is still in its infancy when it comes to how CBD influences your ECS but this is likely to gain more interest as the legalities surrounding marijuana in general become a little less restrictive.
CBD is used to treat many medical conditions including epilepsy and it’s been known to help with certain diseases, although to what extent is still up for research and debate. From one person to the next, CBD can have varying influences.
As an athlete, you’re putting your body through a tremendous amount of stress at times and that can have a greater impact on your body’s health and mind in general.
Therefore, the use of CBD can be great for alleviating pain and inflammation that is caused by overworking or injuring the body during any sport an athlete takes part in. Adding CBD to your ECS can hopefully take control of those neurotransmitters that might often be out of sorts when it comes to taking part in sports at an athletic level.
Benefits of CBD for athletes
To decide on whether CBD is best for you as an aspiring athlete or someone who already considers themselves to be a professional in a sport, here are six benefits of CBD for athletes.
-
Useful to help relieve pain
As it’s already been mentioned, CBD can be helpful in reducing pain. Studies have shown that CBD can be useful for relieving pain, although more so THC.
Athletes can often suffer from stiff joints after exercise, which is where CBD can help alleviate those post-exercise feelings.
Of course, research and studies still need to be done to determine the effectiveness of CBD on pain relief as it’s often down to individual experiences and their own opinions on how much it helps them.
-
Reduces inflammation
A bit of inflammation is good when it comes to athletes and their training routines. It can help to adapt training to ensure more output and productivity is had, but too much inflammation can hinder an athlete's efforts on the field or in training - wherever that may be or look like.
Therefore, as it’s been mentioned, CBD can be useful when it comes to tackling signs of inflammation, reducing the time it takes for an athlete to recover from an injury or overworked areas of the body.
-
Speeds up recovery time
And finally, one of the major benefits of CBD, is that it can often contribute towards recovery time. That means you’ve got the opportunity to get up and get back to it quicker with the use of CBD.
Of course, this is all again relative to each individual’s experience but when it comes to time restraints, having CBD can be helpful to athletes who don’t want to be set back by an injury, pain, or inflammation in general.
If you’re looking to improve your efforts in sports, we have a range of CBD products that might prove useful for your athletic needs.