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CBD used by athletes
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: October 25, 2021
Just a few weeks ago a client asked me if I had an opinion as to his using CBD oil to address the pain he was experiencing in his mending broken shoulder ––the result of a freakish cycling accident.
I told him since I wasn’t a doc I didn’t want to give him advice on using pain-reducing substances for his injury, and suggested he contact the doc who performed his shoulder surgery.
He eventually got the doc’s okay for an OTC (over the counter) CBD, and at this point the substance does indeed seem to be giving him some pain relief, especially when he’s riding his bicycle.
Now his question was of the genera that I typically give an “it’s-out-of-my-jurisdiction” answer to, ditto to questions involving nutrition. I mean I’m a coach, not a physician nor a nutritionist.
Nonetheless, I still like to research some of those out-of-bounds subjects just so I can learn a thing or two.
So I immediately took to my handy old Google machine and gave myself a cyber education on CBD oil and its use with athletes.
So if you haven’t heard, CBD is a naturally occurring compound that’s found in cannabis flowers. Now understand that there are two major varieties of cannabis, hemp and marijuana.
And because of hemp’s low levels of THC––the chemical responsible for producing intoxicating effects––the cannabis sativa species of hemp is typically used when producing CBD, topicals, tinctures, gummies and various sleep aids.
Thus, you do not get high for the cannabis sativa derivatives, precisely because this species usually contains no more than 0.3 percent THC.
Okay, so I had that one cleared up. Now with respect to the cannabis sativa derived CBD oil, the CBD compound is suspended in what’s called a “carrier oil” so it can then interact with our endocannabinoid system (ECS) at CB1 and CB2 receptor sits located in our brain and immune system. It’s this interaction that creates anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects that assist one with pain management.
As a matter of fact in the 2018 study, Cannabinoids and Pain: New Insights From Old Molecules, published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, researchers concluded that CBD was effective in overall pain management and didn’t cause negative side effects.
So how might it fit into my gig, coaching athletes, especially with respect to its legality/illegality?
Indeed, and as a matter of fact, that’s been one of the biggest hurdles with regard to competitive athletes using CBDs.
Well, that hurdle was cleared on Jan. 1, 2020 when the World Anti-Doping Agency deemed CBD no longer a prohibited substance, and declared it safe and well-tolerated in humans.
Thus, CBD oil is now readily available in many countries with the introduction of OTC nutraceutical (nutrition and pharmaceutical combined) products that can supplement the diet and/or assist in providing medical benefits. These nutraceuticals though are not tested and regulated to anywhere near the extent that pharmaceutical drugs are.
Yet I still wanted to know how CBD oil can specifically help my clientele––the competitive athlete?
Well, proponents of the substance’s use in sports claim it can provide pain relief and function as an anti-inflammatory for a competitive athlete’s sore muscles and joints, in addition to helping the athlete relax and get a good night’s sleep after rigorous training.
And by gosh all that sounds pretty darned good…but…the problem is that there are no cannabinoid (compounds which include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis) trials that have categorically involved athletic populations, so all these seemingly great benefits that CBD proponents extoll have been determined from the trials of non-athletic populations––results which can only be extrapolated into the realm of sports medicine.
And one of the biggest reasons for this is because of inconsistent federal and state laws and purity issues with cannabis-based products, making it exceedingly difficult for sports med clinicians to recommend cannabinoid therapeutics.
So that was my quickie, self-study cyber education course on CBD oil products.
And despite the seemingly good vibes I get from the data I’ve reviewed I’m still not going to be recommending a cannabinoid for pain relief, especially considering all legal, ethical and purity issues involved. Like I said, I’m a coach not a doc.
Well, I think I’ll just have to chalk this up as another good learning experience and leave it at that.