Health

What to Know When Using CBD for Recovery

By Melena Gurganus

As public interest in CBD oil continues to grow, more athletes are turning to CBD products for their long list of potential wellness advantages.

CBD has quickly become a popular phenomenon after pro athletes like former Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and UFC fighter Nate Diaz have openly advocated for the use of CBD in professional athletics. Recently, the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Carli Lloyd have gotten involved.

But how does CBD help people with active lifestyles? In this article we’ll talk about what you need to know about CBD for muscle recovery, exercise-induced inflammation, and pain alleviation.

Benefits of CBD for Athletes

For athletes, it’s common to experience pain and inflammation from muscle tension, joint stiffness, healing injuries, or workout recovery. Instead of turning to NSAIDs or opioids, some people have taken to using CBD oil, or cannabidiol, as a way to manage their pain.

CBD is a compound found in cannabis plants, but it produces no psychoactive effects and is considered widely legal across the United States.

The benefits of CBD oil have quickly become a popular wellness supplement for athletes due to its therapeutic potential, including:

The anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of CBD also work to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) without interfering with the restoration of muscle fibers. Essentially, this means you may feel less sore after an intense workout, but you’ll still build stronger muscle as your body repairs itself.

Best Products for Exercise Recovery

CBD Medic Sport Stick

The Active Sport™ stick is a balm made for people on the go. The tube fits conveniently in your gym bag and is designed for those who are regularly drug tested. Helping to relieve pain from minor muscle and joint distress, strains, sprains, and bruises — according to CBD Medic — it contains zero THC or other banned substances.

CBD Medic Back & Neck Ointment

This cream is made for those who want targeted, temporary back and neck pain relief. Soothing discomfort, including general muscle soreness, strains, sprains, and bruises — without any of the greasy, smelly residue common to most sports creams. We like it for post-workout relief, or a soothing rub before bed.

Charlotte's Web Recovery Gummies

Designed to help support healthy recovery from exercise-induced inflammation, Charlotte’s Web gummies are formulated with ginger, turmeric, and whole-plant extract. Unlike many sugary gummies, Charlotte’s Web uses all-natural beet root sugar, which is a better alternative for those seeking a sweet treat to add to their healthy regimen.

How much CBD should athletes take?

This can differ from person to person, and CBD oil dosage can vary depending on several different factors including weight, metabolism, physical activity, genetics, and more.

Some people prefer to take a smaller dose on a daily basis to promote overall wellness, while other athletes want something that helps reduce pain and inflammation quickly. In either case, we recommend starting on the lower end and working your way up until you find a dose that works best for you.

Is it legal in sports?

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is responsible for monitoring anti-doping rules in all sports across every country, and it was the first major sports organization to separate CBD from other cannabis derivatives. WADA removed CBD from its prohibited substances list, which opened the door for more athletes to potentially use CBD. However, several other national leagues like the NFL, MLB, and NBA still categorize CBD as a banned substance since it hails from the cannabis plant.

Yet despite these restrictions on professional level athletics, other athletes frequently use hemp extracts like CBD to stay at their best, but some people are more hesitant than others.

Much of this hesitancy stems from misconceptions that cause people to fear that CBD is just like any other form of cannabis (like marijuana), when in actuality, it has a much different effect on the body.

You may have heard the term “THC” used in conversations about CBD, and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is another well-known cannabinoid that’s responsible for the psychoactive effects associated with marijuana.

But CBD products contain little to no THC and will not cause you to experience a “high”. For this reason, it is also unlikely that CBD will affect a drug test since these screenings typically only test for the presence of THC.

Additionally, the risk of negative side effects from CBD is rare, especially when using topical creams that are only applied to the skin and provide relief for a targeted area. There are also a wide variety of other formats, including sublingual tinctures, capsules, and edibles that appeal to every type of palate.

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