How to Use CBD Cream for Pain Relief: A Simple Guide

An astonishing 50 million people in the US alone deal with chronic pain. That’s on top of the 19.6 million folks who suffer from high-impact chronic pain.

High-impact chronic pain is worse, though — it also restricts at least one primary activity. That includes being unable to go to work or school, or even performing daily house chores.

Either way, being in pain can be devastating and debilitating. So much so that an estimated 85% of people who deal with chronic pain also have depression.

There’s some good news, though: CBD cream for pain relief may be able to help.

Ready to learn how such topical CBD products can help and how to use them to address pain? Then let’s dive right into it!

What Is CBD?

CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it’s one of the 60+ known phytocannabinoids. Phytocannabinoids are cannabis-produced chemicals that interact with endocannabinoids. Endocannabinoids, on the other hand, are substances produced by the mammalian body.

CBD doesn’t appear to have psychoactive effects, though, even if it comes from cannabis. Some researchers also say that it counters the well-known psychiatric effects of THC. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the cannabinoid primarily attributed to cannabis’ psychoactivity.

More than that, CBD has shown the ability to relieve pain in numerous animal studies. That’s because cannabidiol has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. In scientific studies, it has proved to reduce both pain and swelling in animal models.

How Much CBD Cream Should You Apply?

Most published CBD-related studies involved animal models. In one study, for instance, the researchers applied CBD gel on arthritic rats. They found that 6.2 mg and 62.3 mg of CBD application for four days led to a significant reduction in joint swelling.

The researchers also discovered that doses lower than 6.2 mg didn’t have any notable effects.

A couple of other studies on skin disorders also specified the use of 25 mg to 150 mg of CBD a day for three months. According to the researchers, this dose range didn’t cause any adverse drug reactions. Moreover, the patients reported positive results for their severe skin inflammatory conditions.

The lack of human studies is the reason why there’s no strict standard CBD dosage yet, except on a few oral products. As such, most people who use CBD cream for pain go through some trial and error first. You may have to do the same until you find a dose that’s most effective in reducing your pain symptoms.

With that said, if your doctor gave you “dosing” instructions, follow those religiously. If you’re only trying out a topical CBD cream for pain, stick to the instructions on the label first. If it doesn’t specify an amount, you can gradually increase it until you notice a change in your symptoms.

Fortunately, most studies share a similar safety finding: it takes a lot of CBD to cause side effects. They reported that daily doses of up to 1,500 mg of cannabidiol do not cause such adverse reactions.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the steps involved in applying CBD cream for pain relief.

Identify the Specific Pain Areas

Most topical products, including CBD creams, only target localized areas. This means that they need to go on the specific area of treatment; otherwise, they may do little to nothing at all. As such, it’s important to pinpoint where exactly your aches and pains are coming from.

Let’s say that you have a painful sprained ankle, which occurs in at least 23,000 people in the US every day. In this case, it may be best to spread the topical CBD from above the tibia to below the talus area. The tibia is the shinbone, while the talus is the leg bone.

Always Prepare the Treatment Area

External cannabinoids already have low skin permeability. Research also showed that CBD doesn’t meet the therapeutic rate of skin permeability. It can penetrate the skin, however, if applied to a larger skin surface area.

Still, scientists have found that cannabidiol is more permeable and stable than tetrahydrocannabinol. In vitro studies that used human skin have shown that CBD has a 10-fold higher permeability than THC.

Either way, it’s vital to free up your skin of as much dirt and debris prior to applying CBD cream. If you have many pain points spread throughout the body, feel free to take a long shower. What’s important is to get rid of as much skin contaminants as you can before using CBD topicals.

The cleaner, clearer, and drier the treatment areas are, the easier it might be for your skin to absorb the CBD cream.

Work the Cream In With Massaging Motions

Spread the CBD topical on your skin using deep but gentle massaging motions. Do this whether you’re using a CBD ointment for pain or a cream-based product. A CBD gel may dry out faster, though, so be careful as massaging dry skin may cause friction injuries.

To start your CBD massage, place two or three fingertips on the sore body part. Give the area a firm but gentle press. Keep the pressure on while you move your fingers in a circular manner.

Do this for one to two minutes, or less, if it’s too painful to keep going. Feel free to let your body rest for a few seconds before massaging in the topical again.

Wash your hands after applying the CBD product. You may have to wait for a few minutes before you start feeling CBD’s pain-relieving effects.

Note as well that most cannabidiol topicals reach their peak effect after one to two hours. Also, since CBD doesn’t appear to have side effects in much higher doses, feel free to massage it in a few times a day.

Give CBD Cream for Pain Relief a Shot Now

There you have it, your ultimate guide on what is and how to use CBD cream for pain relief. Just keep in mind that CBD products, including topicals and oils, have varying CBD content. That’s why it’s always a good idea to buy only those that have undergone independent lab testing.

This way, you can be sure that the CBD product doesn’t contain any unwanted or harmful components.

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