If you have been seeing CBD muscle balm in increasing frequency lately, it may be due to the spike in popularity that the topical treatment is seeing in recent years. While some people claim it’s all placebo effect, the growing body of research and even anecdotal evidence is mounting, and CBD muscle balm may be the right solution for chronic aches and pains for many others.
We’re going to take a dive into CBD muscle balm and what exactly it is so that you know for sure, is this a natural wonder or modern snake oil. We’ll take a look at just how CBD is claimed to augment the effects of muscle balm, and who it may be beneficial for. In the end, we’ll discuss if CBD is safe overall and wrap up how CBD muscle balm may be the key to managing minor pains for millions.
What is CBD Muscle Balm?
Any topical oil or cream that is applied to sore muscles, which has previously been infused with CBD, can qualify as a cbd muscle balm. The most effective and popular examples of these balms will have additional ingredients that help promote relaxation and muscle soothing.
How Does CBD Muscle Balm Work?
CBD muscle balms work as a topical analgesic, being massaged or rubbed into the skin at certain spots on the body to help soothe pain and reduce inflammation. The various ingredients of the balm or rub work to loosen and soothe the muscle soreness, while the CBD may help to manage pain and enhance relaxation.
When CBD is used in topical solutions like muscle balms, it never enters the bloodstream but instead stays locally in the tissue it was applied to. There, the CBD is absorbed by the local tissues and may help to relieve pain in a similar way to many other analgesic creams that are available over-the-counter. This also helps the effects to remain active in the area they are needed most, rather than taking a supplement that has to be digested and partially metabolized.
While CBD is present in the tissues of the affected area, it interacts with the body’s native cannabinoid receptors. These cannabinoid receptors are present in nearly every part of our body, including our largest organ, the skin. These receptors are part of the body’s endocannabinoid system, and they are critical for pain management.
CBD will bind to these cannabinoid receptors and will immediately begin to desensitize them to the sensation of pain. This can result in a reduction of pain as well as inflammation. Topical CBD treatments, like a CBD muscle balm, are seen as one of the most effective ways to leverage the natural properties of CBD.
Who Should Use CBD Muscle Balm?
While everyone who uses their muscles and experiences muscle soreness may see benefits from using a CBD muscle balm, those who tend to work out hard or train athletically may see some increased benefits to muscle healing. During intense workouts or sports activity, muscles that are worked out experience microscopic tears in their fibers, which help to create more lean muscle tissue when healed, but result in soreness and pain in the meantime.
CBD has already been shown to be effective in the management of pain and inflammation in some cases, but it can also be used to help hasten the muscle healing process. Several compounds in the body slow down muscle healing, namely cytokine & chemokine, and CBD helps to suppress those compounds, allowing the muscles to recover in a shorter time after a workout.
Are CBD Muscle Balms Safe?
Topical treatments like muscle balms have been acknowledged as safe for many years now, but many people see CBD as a new compound or ingredient and are often found wondering if the compound is safe. CBD is considered safe by current research, and even effective at treating some conditions.
Research in 2018 showed that CBD was effective in treating chronic pain, even when due to such serious causes as cancer. More research the following year showed evidence that CBD was a potential muscle relaxation aid, particularly for those with jaw pain. It has also been investigated as a potential treatment for peripheral neuropathy in topical form, which could result in a dramatic improvement in the condition for those who live with it.
The Pain Relief Benefits of CBD Muscle Balm
CBD muscle balm may help reduce chronic pain from inflammatory conditions, and it may also be a significant help in lowering localized pain and soreness from working out or injury. Whether you are an athlete in training, or someone whose biggest workout each week is carrying all the groceries in one trip, a CBD muscle balm may help your muscles feel better, faster than other conventional muscle balms.