The efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) has been studied through various animal studies and clinical trials for medical conditions like asthma, arthritis, insomnia, multiple sclerosis and even anxiety. These studies reveal that CBD shows potential in managing these (and other) medical conditions.
However, there is a growing field of research in the use of CBD for athletes to improve their performance and recovery. This article explores how CBD oil improves performance and recovery, as discovered by current research.
Understanding CBD Oil
Leaves of medical cannabis (MC) or Vijaya are used to prepare an extract that contains cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
CBD and THC differ in psycho-activity; CBD is non-psychoactive while THC is psychoactive. This means that while CBD simply gives a relaxed feeling, THC gives the feeling of ‘high’ and can affect one’s mood and mental perception.
Apart from feeling relaxed, CBD oil also has other benefits (which are discussed below) making it fruitful to use CBD oil for athletes.
Benefits of CBD Oil for Athletes
CBD oil offers numerous benefits for medical conditions like arthritis, asthma and insomnia. Many benefits are conferred by CBD oil for athletes which can help them train and recover better (Rojas-Valverde & Fallas-Campos, 2023). Some of these benefits include:
- Promotes cardiovascular health: Evidence suggests that CBD may combat oxidative stress, improve organ perfusion and decrease the stiffness of arteries (Kicman et al., 2020), thus helping athletes tap into their full cardiovascular potential.
- Improves bone health: An animal study reported that CBD stimulated the expression of enzymes involved in collagen crosslinking which helped in the healing of femoral fractures (Kogan et al., 2015).
CBD Oil and Athletic Performance
Athletic performance can be improved by using CBD oil because of its following effects:
Improves anxiety: Sports performance anxiety can disrupt athletic performance, not letting an athlete reach their full potential. Dahlgren et al. (2022) found that CBD oil may improve anxiety-related symptoms by at least 15% and may also cognitive performance, thus helping improve anxiety.
Improves sleep: Since athletes exercise often, it is important to rest and get good quality sleep. CBD oil has been shown to improve sleep duration by 80% and midnight melatonin levels by 30% (Ried et al., 2023), thus CBD oil for athletes may prove to be beneficial.
CBD Oil and Recovery
Apart from improving performance, using CBD oil for athletes’ recovery may also be beneficial as suggested by research. CBD can help athletes recover in the following ways:
Relieves pain: Exercising and training can often lead to muscle soreness and breakdown which causes pain. CBD may alleviate fatigue, anxiety, headaches, and nausea (Safakish et al., 2020). Moreover, Alaia et al. (2022) showed that buccally administered CBD oil shows promising analgesic effects.
Relieves muscle soreness: CBD may improve muscle soreness which usually occurs due to exercise-induced muscle damage post-exercising. A study found that consuming CBD may have a significant effect on muscle soreness after strenuous exercise (Hatchett et al., 2020).
Using CBD Oil in Sports
When using CBD oil for sports, these tips can be kept in mind for the best possible performance and recovery:
- Choose the right CBD product: There are many CBD products available including full-spectrum, broad-spectrum and isolates. Of these, THC is only found in full-spectrum products (along with CBD). Since THC is banned for use in sports to improve performance, it is recommended to stick to broad-spectrum and isolates.
- Choose the right brand: Many CBD brands online might scam you and not offer quality products. Thus, it is prudent to choose reputed brands like Cannazo India whose products are certified by stringent third-party testing.
- Choose a form of administration: CBD can be administered in various forms: sublingual, vaping, inhaling and capsules. Most of the trials mentioned in this article have used sublingual or direct ingestion, however, a few have also used vaporised CBD oil.
- Choose the right dosage: Some reviews mention that CBD oil may confer some benefits only at a high dose and not at a low dose. But more importantly, everyone’s body reacts slightly differently to CBD, so choosing the dosage which benefits the body while causing minimal side effects is crucial. Start with a low dosage and build up from there.
Safety and Legal Considerations
India legalised the full-spectrum CBD oil in 2018. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare approved the use of cannabis for medical purposes while AYUSH also approved the use of its leaves and seeds for medical use.
Moreover, in 2018, CBD was removed by the World Anti-Doping Agency from its list of prohibited substances, however, it is important to note that THC is still prohibited (Rojas-Valverde et Fallas-Campos, 2023). However, it is recommended to check whether a specific sport allows the use of CBD oil for athletes.
Conclusion
The growing field of research on the use of CBD oil for athletes shows promising results. CBD oil may improve performance by improving sports performance anxiety and sleep quality, while it may improve recovery by relieving pain and muscle soreness experienced after exercising.
CBD oil may also confer other benefits like improving bone health and cardiovascular function.
References
- Alaia, M. J., Hurley, E. T., Vasavada, K., Markus, D. H., Britton, B., Gonzalez-Lomas, G., Rokito, A. S., Jazrawi, L. M., & Kaplan, K. (2022). Buccally Absorbed Cannabidiol Shows Significantly Superior Pain Control and Improved Satisfaction Immediately After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blinded, Randomized Trial. The American journal of sports medicine, 50(11), 3056–3063. https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465221109573
- Dahlgren, M. K., Lambros, A. M., Smith, R. T., Sagar, K. A., El-Abboud, C., & Gruber, S. A. (2022). Clinical and cognitive improvement following full-spectrum, high-cannabidiol treatment for anxiety: open-label data from a two-stage, phase 2 clinical trial. Communications Medicine, 2(1), 139.
- Hatchett, A., Armstrong, K., Hughes, B., & Parr, B. (2020). The influence cannabidiol on delayed onset of muscle soreness. Int. J. Phys. Educ. Sports Health, 7, 89-94.
- Kicman, A., & Toczek, M. (2020). The effects of cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating compound of cannabis, on the cardiovascular system in health and disease. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(18), 6740.
- Kogan, N. M., Melamed, E., Wasserman, E., Raphael, B., Breuer, A., Stok, K. S., … & Bab, I. (2015). Cannabidiol, a major non‐psychotropic cannabis constituent enhances fracture healing and stimulates lysyl hydroxylase activity in osteoblasts. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 30(10), 1905-1913.
- Ried, K., Tamanna, T., Matthews, S., & Sali, A. (2023). Medicinal cannabis improves sleep in adults with insomnia: a randomised double‐blind placebo‐controlled crossover study. Journal of sleep research, 32(3), e13793.
- Rojas-Valverde, D., & Fallas-Campos, A. (2023). Cannabidiol in sports: insights on how CBD could improve performance and recovery. Frontiers in pharmacology, 14, 1210202.
- Safakish, R., Ko, G., Salimpour, V., Hendin, B., Sohanpal, I., Loheswaran, G., & Yoon, S. Y. R. (2020). Medical cannabis for the management of pain and quality of life in chronic pain patients: a prospective observational study. Pain Medicine, 21(11), 3073-3086.
