Numerous drugs, substances, and supplements make the claim that they can enhance sports performance and hasten injury recovery. Cannabis is no exception. Actually, a lot of professional athletes use cannabis to relieve different types of pain. With a medical marijuana card, which gives you legal access to marijuana in your state, getting marijuana is simple.
According to basketball player Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets, 85% of NBA players use marijuana. Riley Cote, a former enforcer for the Philadelphia Flyers, thinks that at least half of NHL players follow suit. Furthermore, according to Martellus Bennett of the Dallas Cowboys, almost 90% of NFL players take marijuana for pain relief.
Does it, however, genuinely function? Does science support these assertions? Anecdotally, cannabis appears to help athletes with post-competition pain and sports-related injuries. According to science, marijuana helps people heal from injuries, but more research is needed to provide conclusive clinical evidence of the plant’s therapeutic benefits.
Cannabis Use Among Athletes
Professional basketball, hockey, and football players primarily use cannabis to heal from injuries sustained in sports, if the aforementioned claims are accurate. What about other top athletes, though?
Survey data from a cohort of 1,161 athletes were analyzed in peer-reviewed research published in Plos One to ascertain cannabis use trends and subjective effects. The majority of survey respondents were male triathletes who worked out for at least 11 hours every week. 26% of respondents said they currently use cannabis, while 67% of respondents said they have used it at some point.
Twelve former professional athletes were interviewed by a reporter for a Bleacher Report piece. Seven (58%) admitted to using cannabis during their work, with the primary justifications being pain relief, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
According to these reports, a lot of athletes include cannabis in their routine to treat pain, sleep disorders, injuries, and mental health issues.
Can Cannabis Accelerate Recovery for Injured Athletes?
Research on medicinal cannabis and athlete injury recovery has produced conflicting results. Certain studies indicate that by providing anti-inflammatory support, cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) provide relief for injured athletes. Furthermore, THC’s euphoric effects may interact with pain receptors to block specific sensations and lessen people’s sensitivity to pain.
However, scientific evaluations of pain are difficult because pain is partially a subjective experience that is hard to quantify. Reports indicate a strong association between cannabis use and improvements in sports injuries, despite the limitations of pain research for a variety of reasons. The majority of research is on CBD.
A study conducted in 2021 looked at CBD’s potential for aiding in sports recovery. According to the study, CBD is widely used by athletes and may be beneficial in treating anxiety, inflammation, mood and sleep disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain. They contend that these benefits may hasten or enhance the healing process brought on by extended or strenuous sports-related physical activity.
“Since intense effort from training and competition causes a structural and functional imbalance, CBD intake may help restore physical performance,” the authors write.
Nevertheless, the group recommended that more excellent scientific research be done before sports science and exercise medicine can recommend a dose and frequency of use for injured athletes.
It is usually advisable to speak with a marijuana doctor before beginning to use marijuana. A physician will advise you on how to use marijuana safely, inform you of the regulations in your state, and determine whether or not marijuana is appropriate for your particular circumstances.
Alternative Uses for Cannabis in Athletics
Using cannabis products in their routines can help athletes with a variety of therapeutic applications. There are anti-inflammatory qualities to cannabis. Studies show that THC and CBD function as strong antioxidants for the nervous system, making it a neuroprotectant as well.
Cannabis may help guard athletes against neurological damage from traumatic brain injuries in contact sports like football, hockey, or martial arts, where head injuries and concussions are frequent.
Research on medicinal cannabis and user reports suggest that cannabis use may also help reduce anxiety, promote deeper sleep, relax spasticity in the muscles, and improve focus in some users. These are all essential elements of an athlete’s total performance.
Cannabis for Anxiety
Participants in a survey of 368 cannabis users and 170 controls were asked to rate their use of cannabis, quality of life, sleep, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as chronic pain. The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between medicinal cannabis use and reduced self-reported depression, better sleep, a higher quality of life, and, generally speaking, less pain. Participants reported significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression-related symptoms during the follow-up period.
Cannabis as a Sleep aid
Research looking at cannabis as a sleep aid indicates that cannabinoids, like THC by itself or in combination with CBD, enhance self-reported sleep scores, lengthening sleep duration and reducing the frequency of waking moments during sleep. Furthermore, THC is linked to an easier time falling asleep at lower dosages.
Athletes may perform at their best when using cannabis as a sleep aid because sleep is essential for the body to repair and function.
Limitations
Medical research does not conclusively support marijuana’s possible advantages for athletes. Indeed, a number of reports suggest that cannabis use, particularly when long-term and high doses are taken, can worsen anxiety, cause disorientation, and damage short-term memory. which may adversely impact one’s ability to perform athletically. Athletes should experiment with different strains (cultivars), dosage regimens, and CBD to THC ratios to find their “therapeutic zone” for the best effects.
The Final Thoughts!
Anecdotal and scientific reports indicate that cannabis is primarily used by athletes for mood, sleep, and injury recovery. Cannabis may help athletes recover from injuries or overexertion after extended training by reducing inflammation. This could also lessen the need for traditional painkillers. Cannabis can help athletes fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep longer by reducing arousal levels.
The extensive body of research also indicates that cannabis’ potent antioxidant qualities function as a neuroprotectant, which is crucial for athletes who frequently participate in contact sports.
Anecdotally, many professional athletes turn to marijuana use to combat anxiety before games, to enhance focus, and to stave off the physiological side effects of hard athletic training and competition. In general, it’s reasonable to conclude that cannabis can aid in a person’s recovery from sports injuries.
