CBD Oil: Should You Try It for Arthritis Symptoms?

What is CBD?

Two kinds of the cannabis sativa plant, hemp and marijuana, produce chemical compounds called cannabinoids. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one type of cannabinoid, but it doesn’t get you high. THC – another cannabinoid – is the psychoactive part of marijuana and does get you high. Most CBD products come from hemp, which must have less than 0.3 THC present.

You might be surprised to learn that your body makes its own cannabinoids (called endocannabinoids) and has cannabinoid receptors, some related to inflammation and pain. Researchers once thought the CBD in products attached to these receptors, but now they suspect CBD helps your body use its own endocannabinoids more effectively.

Can it help arthritis symptoms?

Some preliminary research suggests that CBD may help with arthritis pain. In animal studies, which may not translate to humans, CBD relieved arthritis pain and inflammation. On the other hand, results of human studies are mixed. For example, a 2016 analysis of human trials for RA, OA and fibromyalgia found that CBD improved pain and sleep, but the studies were small and of poor quality.

Even so, Daniel Clauw, MD, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an expert in chronic pain, doesn’t write off CBD’s potential benefits and recommends it to some of his patients.

“A recent trial* showed CBD alone was effective in [the treatment of] knee OA, and it appears as though it is very safe,” he says. “Nearly all potential side effects of cannabinoids are from THC, not CBD.”

Here are his suggestions if you want to try it:

• Use low doses, which seem to work best for pain relief.
• Start with a CBD-only product, 5 – 10mg twice daily, and then slowly increase, going up to dose of 50 – 100mg per day. If that doesn’t help, try a CBD product with a low dose of THC.
• Use only at night at first; slowly increase dose if needed.
• Edibles’ effects last longer than vaping, so don’t try them until you know what CBD strain and dose work for you.
• Use caution if you are 25 years old or younger and using CBD products that contain THC. This age group is at highest risk of addiction, dependency or even psychosis.