Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can be caused by many different ailments and can become unbearable for many people.
Chronic pain is one of the most underestimated health care problems in the world today, causing major consequences for the quality of life of the sufferer and a major burden on the health care system in the Western world.
Chronic pain can overwhelm anyone, even if you have an extremely high “pain tolerance.” When you are dealing with pain for hours at a time, day after day, it can become challenging to do the simplest of tasks.
There are ways to alleviate chronic pain but for many people medication only provides temporary relief, allowing them to cope and survive rather than to enjoy a high quality of life.
Since chronic pain can be a symptom of many different ailments, it can often be challenging to treat. This lack of relief has made many people seek “alternative therapies,” ranging from acupuncture to vitamins and everything in between.
With medical cannabis becoming more widely available, many people who suffer from chronic pain are turning to cannabis as a legitimate treatment option.
It is our goal here at Kanteeva to provide you with the information that you will need to make an educated decision on whether medical cannabis is an option for you or a loved one.
After reading this article, you should have a basic understanding about medical cannabis and chronic pain so that you can further discuss your options with your healthcare provider(s). If you still have any additional questions or concerns after reading this article please post them in the comments area below and a Kanteeva team member will respond as soon as possible.
What is Chronic Pain?
Few things a doctor does are more important than relieving pain. . . pain is soul destroying. No patient should have to endure intense pain unnecessarily. The quality of mercy is essential to the practice of medicine; here, of all places, it should not be strained.
– Dr. Marcia Angell (via Quotes.wiki)
The Cleveland Clinic defines chronic pain as:
pain that is ongoing and usually lasts longer than 6 months.
Chronic pain can be caused by a variety of different route ailments like:
- Migraine Headaches
- Arthritis, especially Osteoarthritis Nerve Pain (Neuropathy)
- Back Pain
- Fibromyalgia Pain
- Cancer Pain
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Ongoing Pain Resulting from an Accident
These are just a few of the many ailments that can cause ongoing chronic pain. If you find yourself suffering from an ailment that causes chronic pain you are well aware of just how hard it can be to complete even the simplest of tasks.
Experiencing constant pain can be a daily battle which most people feel as though they are constantly losing. The good news is that medical science has progressed significantly when it comes to pain relief. The bad news is that most of the methods available have many potential negative side effects that can create entirely new problems for chronic pain sufferers.
How is Chronic Pain Currently Treated?
Chronic pain is treated in different ways depending on the ailment responsible for causing the pain. In general, most chronic pain treatment options will include a combination of medications and physical therapy, massage therapy, and/or chiropractic care.
These pain management options may also include things such as dietary changes and recommended exercise programs for optimal recovery. Taking advantage of multiple pain management options is often the way that many people find the best success possible.
For most people the topic of medical cannabis comes into play when considering options for medications, especially when other pain relief medications fail to deliver adequate results or can create physical dependency. There are many people who are concerned with taking popular pain medications, like Oxycodone or Fentanyl because of the current addiction epidemic that surrounds the use of opioids.
Why are People Avoiding Opioids for Pain Relief?
The main reason that many people are avoiding opioids for their pain relief is that opiods are known to be very addictive. Many people suffering from opioid use disorder started opioids after receiving a prescription from their healthcare provider(s). In fact, according to WebMD, opioid dependence can occur in as little as 3 days and the odds of dependence increase substantially every consecutive day thereafter that opioids are consumed.
This high rate of opioid dependence has led to an addiction epidemic in many areas of the world.
It is hard not to hear something about what mainstream media is referring to as “the opioid crisis” or “the opioid epidemic.” It is understandable that news outlets are providing detailed coverage on this topic and according to the US Department of Health and Human Services 2 million people had an opioid use disorder in 2018 and more than 130 people die each day in the US alone from opioid-related drug overdoses.
The use of opioids are associated with several other side effects as well. According to a study published by Pain Physician Journal in 2008, the common side effects of opioids include:
- Sedation
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Physical Dependence
- Tolerance
- Respiratory Depression
It is important to note that while all medications have side effects, some of the side effects listed above for opioids are so common that they have become their own ailments that can be diagnosed by healthcare providers separately.
As a result of extremely high addiction rates and the common negative side effects of opiod use, many people have started using medical cannabis to treat their chronic pain symptoms.
Can Medical Cannabis Help Treat Chronic Pain?
no other intervention, policy, pharmacotherapy, or treatment paradigm has been as impactful as cannabis legislation has been on the rates of opioid consumption, overdose, and death.
- Emerging Evidence for Cannabis' Role in Opioid Use Disorder Study
In recent years there have been several studies conducted on the use of medical cannabis for treating chronic pain.
There have also been tens of thousands of user testimonials all over the Internet of people who have found success managing chronic pain symptoms using medical marijuana.
According to one study published in Health Affairs in 2016, 64.5% of all medical marijuana patients were consuming cannabis for chronic pain while 84.6% of patients reporting that is was effective for their pain relief.
Chronic pain is caused by many factors and is a symptom of many ailments that cannabis therapy can be effectively used for. To learn more about how medical cannabis and these ailments, follow this link to our Ailments section.
What Does Science Say about Medical Cannabis and Chronic Pain?
Unlike many other ailments, the use of medical cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain has been the subject of much scientific research in recent years. Below are just a few of these many studies:
Smoked Cannabis for Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial - This study, published by the Canadian Medical Association, reported users having significantly improved measures of pain, better sleep quality and lower anxiety after consuming smoked cannabis when other conventional therapies had failed.
Cannabis as a Substitute for Opioid-Based Pain Medication: Patient Self-Report - This study, published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc., stated that “Respondents overwhelmingly reported that cannabis provided relief on par with their other medications, but without the unwanted side effects.”
Low-Dose Vaporized Cannabis Significantly Improves Neuropathic Pain - This study, published by Elsevier Inc. in The Journal of Pain, was approved by the US FDA and reported that even when given very low THC doses of 1.29%, cannabis “provided statistically significant 30% reductions in pain intensity when compared to placebo.”
As you can see from these three medical studies alone, cannabis has been shown to potentially help reduce the symptoms of chronic pain quite significantly. If you are considering trying medical cannabis for your chronic pain, it is very important that you discuss your options with your healthcare provider(s) before starting medical cannabis therapy.
How to Find the Best Marijuana Strains for Chronic Pain?
Here at Kanteeva, we conduct our due diligence in order to provide our community with the best information we possibly can. We thoroughly research cannabis strains before we make any recommendations.
It can be challenging when it comes to finding the best cannabis strains for chronic pain because chronic pain can be caused by a variety of different ailments. The best cannabis strain for one type of pain may not be very effective in treating another type of pain. If you find that you do not have the success that you had hoped for after trying one particular strain, then you may need to try a different variety for your specific pain needs.
Another important thing to know is that every individual person will respond to cannabis differently. Also, we all have our own individual and unique pain tolerance levels. Since pain is subjective and your reaction to medical cannabis will be unique to your symptoms and body, finding the best strain for your individual pain may require some trial and error.
Your healthcare provider(s) may also help you select the best options based on your individual medical needs.
It is also important to remember that while pain relief from medical cannabis is often associated with the cannabinoid THC, everyone reacts differently to the effects of THC. This being the case, you may find that you are able to find substantial pain relief from strains that have very low THC content.
To help you find the best cannabis strain for your needs, we have selected a few of the most popular strains that are often credited for providing pain relief.
What are the Top Strains for Chronic Pain?
We base these recommendations on testimonials from medical cannabis community members, anecdotal research, scientific research and a variety of other factors like accessibility.
ACDC
While ACDC is not known for its THC content, it is still one of the most popular strains of cannabis for pain relief among members of the medical cannabis community. It is a 50/50 Hybrid strain that has a CBD to THC ratio of around 18 to 1. ACDC is very popular among the medical cannabis community for pain management and thanks to its popularity it is widely available. ACDC has a very low THC content that normally does not exceed 6% and most samples test between 1% and 2% THC. Thanks to its low THC content and frequent success at helping people break free from pain, ACDC is a great choice for both new and experienced medical cannabis patients.
Harlequin
This Sativa Dominant Hybrid is one of the most popular strains among the medical cannabis community for relieving pain, especially pain associated with inflammatory ailments like arthritis and trauma. Harlequin averages between 4% to 10% THC and 6% to 15% CBD. Many patients say that Harlequin is their favourite strain for daytime pain relief as it delivers energizing effects without causing feelings of grogginess.
Chemo Kush aka Chemo
This potent Indica strain has a very high THC concentration that averages 21% and it is believed to have originally been created to help people find relief from the symptoms of chemotherapy. Many users report that Chemo Kush creates a very powerful full body high that melts away pain but leaves you feeling groggy and couch locked. Because of its sedative properties, Chemo is best consumed at home during evening hours. Patients that are new to medical cannabis should approach this strain with caution until they know how their body responds to THC, as it does have very high THC concentrations.
Pink Kush
This Indica Dominant Hybrid strain is one of the most commonly mentioned strains among medical cannabis patients for the treatment of pain. With THC concentrations that range from 18% to 22%, this strain should be taken in low doses to start and increased slowly for the most benefit possible. Due to its very high THC concentration beginners may want to avoid this strain until they know how THC affects them. Many users also report that this strain delivers a euphoric feeling with mild sedative effects which makes it an ideal option for evening use.
Northern Lights
This potent Indica strain is well known among the medical cannabis community for its pain relieving abilities. With an average THC content of 21%, this strain is known to create a physical high that leaves you feeling relaxed, euphoric, happy, sedated and hungry. It is recommended to only be used in the evening as its sedative effects can be overwhelming. Be careful when you try this strain for the first time and start dosing very slowly as its very high THC content can lead to feelings of couch lock and paranoia.
Final Thoughts
Chronic pain can be so all-encompassing that you may find it hard to think about anything else. Having to endure this debilitating ailment can make you feel like you are a slave to your own body, while finding relief from it can often feel impossible.
The positive news is that there have been tens of thousands of people all around the world who have found relief from their chronic pain with medical cannabis.
If you are interested in starting a medical cannabis program for your chronic pain symptoms, we strongly suggest that you speak with your healthcare provider(s) and join the Kanteeva community for other helpful information from other patients and practitioners.
We Want to Hear from You
Have you or a loved one found relief from chronic pain by using medical cannabis? If you have, we would love to hear from you!
Please help us spread the word about the amazing benefits that medical cannabis patients are finding all over the world by becoming part of our community.
With your help thousands of others could finally find relief too.
Please share your stories, comments, and questions below. If you are a medical cannabis patient please also mention what strain has been effective at helping you find relief.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article and we look forward to hearing your story soon!
Learn. Share. Connect.