Chronic PainMedical Marijuana For Chronic Pain

Can You Treat Chronic Pain With Marijuana

Chronic pain treated with marijuana, diagnosed by pain lasting more than 3 months, is a debilitating condition that affects millions of Americans.And a high number of people living with chronic back pain take opioids versus to treat the pain. It’s led to a large amount of overlap between chronic pain diagnoses and diagnoses of opioid use abuse, data from a consumer healthcare company, found.

For decades, the standard has been Florida Doctors and Doctors around the US treat chronic pain with potent opioids, though in recent years there has been a bigger push toward alternatives such as medical marijuana.

Those, however, can be more expensive for patients, in part because insurers aren’t as willing to pay for the alternatives over opioids. Even so, some doctors and patients are turning to others techniques such as a therapy that uses a medical device to treat pain, as an alternative to opioids. The approach has been around for decades, but in the past few years new technology has been developed that makes the devices more precise at targeting pain. A healthcare company that produces everything from meal replacement shakes to blood sugar monitors, has its own line of special devices after acquiring medical device company coming soon. That may soon be enough to sway health insurers to cover the procedure sooner, which can be costly. Insurers and healthcare providers have been looking for new ways to curb prescription opioid use, including cutting the number of pills they prescribe in a year, and by no longer covering oxy, the branded version of the painkiller oxycodone. Insurers and healthcare providers have often shied away from using due to its high cost. But, who has been using to treat patients with chronic pain for almost three decades, said that while opioids may appear cheap in comparison, their cost rises exceptionally if a patient becomes addicted and requires long-term addiction treatment in a clinic. Said that he’s seen insurers in other states be more sensitive to testing out other alternatives to opioids, despite the higher cost says one prominent orlando marijuana doctor. Even so, covering is still on a case-by-case basis, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents health insurance companies. Treating pain is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s important to ensure patients are getting the quality, evidence-based care that best fits their need for pain management. The therapy you mention below may be appropriate for a select group of patients. However, every patient is different and experiences pain differently, so there is a time and a place when opioids, or other therapies, are appropriate.

Can You Treat Muscle Spasms With Medical Marijuana

Muscle spasms are involuntary contractions of a muscle or sometimes more than one muscle that cause the painful symptom of muscle cramps. Cramping muscles feel tight, painful, and hard.

Everyone has occasional muscle spasms, but chronic muscle spasms are a symptom of many conditions. Many things can increase your likelihood of suffering from muscle cramps, including:

• Being active during hot temperatures
• Certain medications
• Dehydration
• Inadequate blood circulation, especially in the legs
• Magnesium deficiency
• Muscle fatigue
• Pinched nerves
• Potassium deficiency
• Working muscles too hard when exercising

You can help prevent muscle spasms by staying adequately hydrated, eating a diet with enough calcium, magnesium, and vitamins, and stretching properly before and after you exercise. In some cases, however, muscle spasms and cramps can’t be controlled by these everyday measures, and a health care provider may recommend cannabis and other treatments.

What Can Medical Cannabis Do For Muscle Spasms

Evidence suggests that medical cannabis, or marijuana, makes muscle spasms less painful. In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), marijuana and cannabinoids (chemical compounds derived from marijuana) have been shown to help relax the muscle rigidity associated with this condition in clinical studies. Medical marijuana and ingredients derived from it have also been shown to reduce the chronic pain of MS. In other countries, the prescription medication Sativex, made with cannabinoids, is used as a treatment for MS. This medication has not been approved for use in the U.S.

Spinal cord injuries are another class of conditions in which patients often have uncontrolled muscle spasms. Clinical studies have suggested that medical marijuana can help relieve the symptoms associated with spinal cord injury.

Because the U.S. government has classified marijuana as a drug with “no medicinal value” since 1970, not as much research has been done as some doctors and health care researchers would like to see done. Researchers in the U.S. who wish to do clinical trials on medical marijuana have to get federal approval, obtain funding, and obtain the marijuana used in the study through the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Until these research hurdles can be reduced or eliminated through re-classifying marijuana at the federal level, scientists won’t be able to study the medicinal uses of marijuana in the same way as other prescription medicines are studied.

Arthritis is an extremely painful and difficult condition to live with.  The near constant pain and discomfort that is experienced by those who suffer from arthritis has a significant impact on quality of life. Patients often spend a great deal of time and even money looking for relief.  There are a number of remedies available, some more effective than others. There is increasing attention being given to the ways that medical marijuana can be used to reduce pain and deal with the symptoms of arthritis.  For many patients it proves to be a natural way to manage their pain that doesn’t have a lot of the side-effects of other medications, particularly opiates.  In fact, in light of the current epidemic of opioid addiction, there are many marijuana doctors who advocate for increasing the use of cannabis in different forms to treat painful and chronic conditions like arthritis. Marijuana is also considered a natural way to deal with pain that has fewer side effects than other medication says a marijuana doctor in Orlando. In this article we will explore what arthritis is and how it can be treated with medical marijuana. 

What is Arthritis

According to the Mayo Clinic, as defined on the clinic’s website, “Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.”  The pain associated with osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of the cartilage which cushions bones. The pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the body’s immune system attacking the joints. Both types are painful and require treatment to manage pain and help patients a quality of life. 

How is Arthritis Managed

There are a number of ways that the pain and discomfort associated with arthritis is treated.  Many treatment options are not medications. They include simple things like resting and getting enough sleep, heating pads, cold compresses, ice packs, exercises, tai chi, and yoga. Occupational and physical therapy can help keep joints limber and prevent stiffness.  Hydrotherapy, stretching, massage, and acupuncture can also help. Sometimes surgery helps to correct joint damage and replace cartilage that has been broken down. A number of different drugs are prescribed for patients.  These include over-the-counter painkillers like acetaminophen, motrin, and ibuprofen, as well as opioids like OcyContin or hydrocodone. Well there are a number of treatments for arthritis, many patients find that marijuana or CBD oil is a highly effective tool for pain management. In fact, there is now a growing number of marijuana doctors who are happy to prescribe it for their patients in states where it has been legalized for medicinal use.   

How Does Marijuana Treat Arthritis

To begin with, marijuana is a plant (cannabis sativa) that contains a number of different chemicals.  Many of them do affect you when smoked, ingested or applied topically to the skin. THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD, or cannabidiol, are probably the best known of them. Each of them helps with chronic pain but in different ways. The endocannabinoid system is basically a communication structure made up of brain cells or neurons that send chemical messages, known as neurotransmitters. THC disrupts this communication which inhibits pain receptors and it also floods the brain with dopamine. That dopamine is responsible for the “high” that is experienced by people who use marijuana. Much like other opioids, it allows pain to fade into the background of a pleasurable buzz. CBD oil, on the other hand, does not produce a “high”. Like THC, it does affect the endocannabinoid system. It can activate some of the neurotransmitters in your brain and inhibit other neurotransmitters. One example of this is anandamide, which is a compound known to be responsible or regulating pain. CBD oil increases production of anandamide and thus reduces pain. It is also thought that CBD oil calms inflammation of the brain and nervous system. This is beneficial to people who are suffering from immune-system responses such as rheumatoid arthritis. It also helps reduce pain and ease insomnia.

 

Is Marijuana the Right Treatment for Your Arthritis

There are a number of methods for using marijuana as a way to treat pain associated with arthritis.  Smoking it in the form of a joint is a popular one. Today ingesting edible pot that has been baked into treats like brownies or cookies or incorporated into candy is a popular way to consume it. It can also be ingested in a capsule form or brewed in a tea. Creams, oils and tinctures that can be applied topically are also growing increasingly popular as a tool of pain management. Which method of delivery is best will vary depending on your type of arthritis, level of pain, and, of course, your own individual taste.  It is always smart to consult a marijuana doctor or other trained medical expert who understands the different strains of marijuana and how they will affect you. We will end on one note of caution. Marijuana has been widely used both recreationally and medicinally for many years but, until recently, it has been illegal and has not been widely studied by researchers.  Early studies do suggest that it can be helpful in reducing chronic pain. More scientific study is needed to ascertain the best ways to use marijuana for pain relief. Also, further research is needed in order to be ascertain how it interacts with other drugs that arthritis patients may be taking medicine for blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, anxiety and other chronic conditions. Again, it is wise to consult with a marijuana doctor in orlando or other medical expert on the best way to use it for pain relief.