The Potential of CBD for Osteoarthritis Relief

Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition affecting millions of people worldwide. It’s causing chronic pain and reduces functionality in the affected body parts like hands and joints. While there are traditional treatments, they often fall short and don’t provide sufficient relief or have serious side effects. Many sufferers are looking for better, more natural alternatives. 

CBD, an extract from the hemp plant, has shown antiinflammatory and pain relieving properties in many preclinical and clinical studies. That’s why researchers became interested in exploring its potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Today, we’re looking at a recent study that sheds light on the benefits of a CBD gel as a treatment option for hand osteoarthritis.

Understanding Hand Osteoarthritis

First of all, let’s have a look at what osteoarthritis is. It’s a degenerative joint disease characterised by the gradual breakdown of cartilage. This leads to reduced mobility, stiffness and pain. When this occurs in the joints of fingers and thumbs, we’re talking about hand osteoarthritis - a condition that is impacting a person’s ability to perform daily tasks. Studies show that almost 44% of all women and 38% of all men will experience this in their lifetime! To date, there are no treatments available to reverse this condition. Available therapies focus only on management of the symptoms. 

The Potential of CBD

CBD is extracted from the hemp plant. It is not psychotropic, meaning it won’t provoke any intoxication like other cannabinoids. Instead, it has become known for its benefits like pain relief and antiinflammatory effects that are backed by science. Unlike traditional pain medications such as Ibuprofen or Aspirin, CBD doesn’t cause gastrointestinal or other side effects that often come with long-term use of these traditional drugs. That alone makes it an appealing candidate in the treatment of conditions like osteoarthritis.

The Study at a Glance

The study we’re looking at today involved 18 patients with hand osteoarthritis. They were asked to apply a CBD gel containing a 4% concentration of CBD to the most painful hand three times a day over the course of four weeks. The scientists tracked changes in pain levels, measured the participant’s hand functionality and assessed their quality of life using an app. The results of their tests were highly promising, showing significant reductions in pain and improvements in grip strength and quality measures. 

The Key Findings

1. Pain Reduction: On average, the participants reported pain reductions of nearly 2 points on a 0-10 scale. This marks a notable decrease and clinically significant improvement.
2. Improved Grip Strength: The participants also showed an increase in grip strength in the hand that was treated with the CBD gel. This enabled them to perform daily tasks more easily thanks to enhanced functionality.
3. Enhanced Quality of Life: While the participant’s sleep quality remained unchanged, their anxiety improved, along with fatigue and stiffness measures. This shows that CBD might have an effect beyond just pain reduction. 

Importantly, no severe side effects were reported during the study - indicating that topically applied CBD is a very safe option. This is particularly important for osteoarthritis patients that need long-term pain management solutions.

The Science Behind CBD

While specific details regarding CBD and osteoarthritis still remain under investigation, we know that CBD helps to control pain and inflammation by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system. It is able to connect and interact with various endocannabinoid receptors in the body, which can change, among other things, how pain signals are sent, potentially providing relief for chronic conditions. 

Limitations and Future Directions

While the results sound very promising, we have to keep in mind that this was a small trial that wasn’t placebo-controlled. Furthermore, the levels of pain and functionality were largely self-assessed and not backed up by more objective measures like imaging or biomarkers.

Nevertheless, the positive outcomes clearly warrant larger trials and more comprehensive studies towards the application of CBD in osteoarthritis treatment to validate and expand on the encouraging findings. 

CBD for Hand Osteoarthritis: Final Thoughts

Thanks to this pioneering study, we now know that topical CBD might be a valuable tool for the management of osteoarthritis that can be applied long-term without causing significant side effects. While further studies are needed, this presents a silver lining for many sufferers. 

With more and bigger trials, CBD could be established in the management of chronic pain associated with diseases like osteoarthritis and could improve the quality of life for millions of people.