Have you ever finished a workout, and the moment you left the gym, you knew your muscles would hurt really bad the next day? Maybe you were training to get rid of the extra weight, or perhaps you wanted to demonstrate yourself you can handle a complicated workout, but now you are wondering how you will get up from the bed the next day.
It doesnt really matter if you are a gym enthusiast, athlete, or a homeowner that likes to be active, exercise pain can affect everyone. And while the standard treatment with hot baths and aspirin may work, it doesnt alleviate the soreness and tension when you push your body too much.
A 2018 review of 132 studies published in Frontiers in Neurology shows that CBD can reduce inflammation and improve mobility and pain in people who have multiple sclerosis because it has antipsychotic, antiemetic, neuroprotective, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory characteristics. CBD is one of the 100 compounds hemp and marijuana plants contain. And even if its a distant cousin to THC, it doesnt have the psychoactive properties, so it doesnt make you high. A microscopic difference in their structure makes CBD a miracle ingredient that can alleviate muscle pain. So, if it works for sclerosis, it probably does too for muscle inflammation.
You still have no idea what CBD is?
CBD is one of the many organic cannabinoids the cannabis plant includes. The companies that sell CBD products ensure to source it from a specific cannabis bred called hemp that doesnt produce high amounts of THC, the psychoactive ingredient everyone is afraid of.
The CBD supplements athletes take to alleviate muscle tension are non-psychoactive because they lack THC. Most states worldwide regulated CBD because they consider it an alternative treatment or nutritional supplement that improves a wide array of conditions. However, before ordering any product, check the local laws.
Scientific and anecdotal evidence back some of the benefits CBD has. The truth is people are using it since the oldest times when there were no drugs to treat pains, nausea, inflammation, and wounds. Now its a standard solution for conditions like insomnia, inflammation, stress, pain, and anxiety.
How does it work?
CBD interacts with the human regulatory system, not with each organ and tissue in part. This allows it to affect the body tissues, muscles, and organs directly and indirectly. In the body, it works through the endocannabinoid system, a subsystem all mammals have. The ECS includes G-protein-coupled receptors and hormones that interact with endocannabinoids. The function of the endocannabinoid system is to regulate homeostasis and maintain the internal balance of the body. For an individual to be healthy, all functions in the body need to keep individual values, and homeostasis is the process that ensures these metrics are within the ideal ranges. When someone falls off of that specific range, they get sick and can even die.
CBD works as a regulator of the endocannabinoid system because it has properties similar to the endocannabinoids the human body produces. It attaches to receptors and modifies their structure to regain balance and make them more useful. It doesnt impact the ECS directly, but it regulates the functions the human body already has in place. On the other hand, THC affects the endocannabinoid directly, and this is why its crucial to use only the best CBD hemp flowers harvested from reliable sources.
But how does it help with post-workout pain?
It reduces inflammation. CBD is so critical in the recovery process because it can reduce inflammation. When you head home after an exhausting workout, you apply ice on the muscles to reduce and prevent inflammation. But it doesnt help when you overwork the muscles, so you need another natural remedy to help you bounce back. Studies show that CBD can inhibit some inflammatory molecules, so it shortens the recovery time and alleviates tension and inflammation in the tissue.
It lowers muscle tension. Post-workout symptoms often include muscle tension that shows there is an injury in the tissue. Gym enthusiasts often use muscle relaxants to handle muscle pain because the pressure in the muscles is the one that causes you pain. But most of the muscle relaxants available on the market contain benzodiazepine drugs that have side effects like depression, trembling, dizziness, confusion, and sedation. So, theyre not exactly what an athlete may need. CBD has similar effects to benzodiazepines drugs, only that they dont trigger the side effects.
It improves pain. CBD topicals can be powerful pain killers so they can help you in the post-workout recovery process. Research shows that cannabinoids can block pain through three mechanisms, stop pain transmission in the brain and spinal cord, lower inflammatory messenger activity, and decrease sensitivity to aches. Youll find it more comfortable to function with less pain and tension in your muscles.
It boosts sleep. Your muscles recover during sleep periods, so its crucial to rest to help your body recover after a strenuous workout. When you sleep, your body goes through multiple processes, it restores damaged proteins, removes cellular debris, converts lactic acid to glucose in the liver, and stimulates stem cell differentiation into muscle fibers. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, can increase the cortisol levels, reduce the insulin-like growth factor, and lower testosterone production. CBD has a positive impact on your sleeping habits, and it improves duration and quality.
Why do your muscles sore after exercising?
Now that you know how you can improve post-workout symptoms, you may wonder why do you have them? Why do you still get them even after years of training? Every time you exercise, you cause microscopic damage to the millions of proteins found in your muscle cells. Damage triggers inflammation, and inflammation causes pains, aches, tension, and stiffness.
Usually, you start experiencing these symptoms the day following the workout, but sometimes they can hit even the third day. The medical community calls this process delayed onset muscle soreness, and its part of the recovery process. Your body adapts to the new shape of the muscles and learns to handle new levels of stress.