Using CBD for Sports Injuries: Does It Help?
Sports injuries are relatively common. Sore muscles following a workout or a hard training session are par for the course. Any athlete who pushes themselves to the limit will undoubtedly experience some kind of discomfort throughout their journey.
In some cases, this discomfort is productive. It can mean that muscles are strengthening and fortifying. It could mean that an athlete trained a little too hard and wound up with an injury in other cases.
Athletes should be just as committed to their wellness as they are to their achievements. For many athletes, CBD plays an integral role in supporting their workout recovery. Many athletes find that CBD is helpful for healing in several ways.
Can CBD Really Combat Swelling or Relieve Pain?
CBD is currently undergoing clinical studies for its ability to combat redness and swelling or relieve pain. More extensive studies are necessary to make an accurate determination about the legitimacy of any claims relating to CBD.
Although the research isn’t technically in, there are countless anecdotal accounts from athletes who relentlessly praise CBD for its vital role in their personal rituals. Golfers, soccer players, and even Olympic medalists personally attribute their improved recovery time to a regimen that includes CBD.
Many Athletes are Permitted to Use CBD
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sets the official rules for what substances do and do not constitute doping. CBD was removed from the list (and therefore deemed allowable) in 2018. Other cannabinoids, particularly THC, remain on that list.
Competitive sports that abide by WADA rules will therefore allow their athletes to use CBD. Individual sports leagues are divided.
National Basketball Association (NBA) players are not permitted to use CBD, but many of them are pressing to review the rules.
After a years-long battle with their regulatory board, National Football League (NFL) players are now allowed to use CBD as part of their sports medicine regimens. They’ve recently approved funding for research related to cannabinoids in sports medicine.
This research may play an essential role in determining the efficacy of cannabinoids for medical purposes. In fact, the National Hockey League (NHL) is lenient with players who choose to use CBD, and Major League Baseball (MLB) has been surprisingly open-minded to CBD for quite some time.
What CBD Can Do For Athletes
CBD provides a wealth of potential benefits to athletes, but athletes aren’t the only ones who can enjoy those benefits. The same benefits will apply to everyone, whether they enjoy spending their free time engaged in a fast-paced activity or cuddling up with a good book.
CBD should be part of your ritual on days where you’re giving your body rest, as well as days where you’re exploring new athletic limits.
Support Your Recovery
Most evidence directly correlating CBD with improved workout recovery is anecdotal. However, some rigorous studies regarding CBD concerning sports medicine suggest that the potential benefits are significant enough to warrant more extensive studies.
More information is required to conclude that CBD is effective for pain and swelling definitively and to compare its effects to commonly used over-the-counter pain relief or anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals.
Until research develops the bigger picture, follow the advice of your sports medicine doctor when it comes to using CBD for relief from pain and swelling. If you want to use CBD as a part of your ritual, ask your sports medicine doctor.
Many sports medicine doctors allow (or even encourage) their patients to use CBD in conjunction with practices like physical therapy or massage therapy.
This doesn’t mean that CBD can’t support your recovery. You’ll need adequate protein, sufficient hydration, plenty of electrolytes, and high-quality rest to fully recover. There are no substitutes for those things. CBD can help support your body throughout the process. CBD’s soothing benefits and sleep-boosting benefits are highly-valuable to athletes who need rest after a hard training day.
Chill Out
CBD can help to ease feelings of tension and stress. These feelings are common among people who have to load a lot of responsibilities into a single day. If you got your workout done, but you’re still facing work projects, a test you need to study for, or a full sink and several loads of laundry, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed.
When your stress levels are lower, you carry less tension in your body. Tension can exacerbate the way your body interprets pain and inflammation. If you’re sore after a long dance practice or boxing session, the last thing you want is to feel more tension in your body.
One of the most sought-after benefits of CBD is its ability to promote a better mood. Most people feel calm and focused after they use CBD. You slayed your workout, but you still have your day-to-day life to manage. CBD can help you chill out, take a deep breath, and meet the rest of your day with energized enthusiasm.
Sleep Well
Your body and mind need deep, restorative sleep to function properly. CBD isn’t a replacement for proper sleep habits, but regular use can help to improve the duration and quality of sleep over time.
Limiting caffeine consumption and keeping your bedroom comfy will also go a long way in promoting sleep. Natural remedies like melatonin and herbal sleepytime teas provide an additional layer of support.
Some people may feel that CBD improves their sleep quality almost immediately, but that isn’t always the case. Using CBD consistently for about two weeks will produce the most noticeable effects.
These things aren’t panaceas. You need to schedule a regular bedtime and give yourself enough time to get sufficient sleep. Even adults need rest.
If you feel like you need an extra hour in the morning and it won’t create a negative situation for you to hit snooze, do it. Listen to your body.
Athletes Should Use CBD Consistently
Your workout is your ritual, not your routine. You lace up your shoes, and you hit the pavement and train with everything you have. You work as hard as you do because you’re intent on achieving your goals.
CBD should be a part of your ritual. It’s the final step in the series of daily events that transpire throughout your athletic journey.
It takes a while to turn a routine into a meaningful ritual and experience of CBD. Although you will experience the benefits of CBD within an hour of using a tincture, the most pronounced benefits come with consistent use. Using CBD daily for at least 30 days will provide meaningful, pronounced, and sustainable benefits.
Peels CBD Meets an Athlete’s Standards
The majority of CBD on the market is hemp-derived. There’s nothing wrong with hemp-derived CBD, but it may not suit everyone seeking wellness benefits. Hemp contains a small amount of THC. While it isn’t enough to intoxicate you, it can still accumulate in your system and cause you to fail a drug test. Many people aren’t comfortable with the idea of taking that risk.
Hemp and other cannabis plants are not the only plants that contain naturally occurring cannabinoids and terpenes. Many vegetables and fruits also contain the cannabinoids and terpenes that people seek from hemp.
It just so happens that orange peels are naturally full of terpenes and do not contain any THC whatsoever. Peels recreates the exact molecular structure of CBD from the naturally occurring terpenes in orange peels.
Our CBD is bioidentical to the CBD that occurs in the hemp plant and boasts the exact same effects without any potential drawbacks of cannabis-derived products.
Third party labs test peels to assure their quality and safety. There are no pesticides, molds, heavy metals, or pollutants — just the pure goodness of orange peels and the holistic wellness benefits of CBD.
Make Peels a Part of Your Ritual
Peels is as natural as an orange, and it fits just as easily into your daily ritual. Wake up, use your Peels CBD, enjoy a nutritious breakfast, hydrate, and train. Let CBD support your mind and body while you work towards achieving your goals.
Sources:
Cannabinoid | World Anti-Doping Agency
Stress effects on the body | American Psychological Association
CBD for Sleep & Insomnia Symptoms | American Sleep Association