CBD for Athletes
For most athletes a huge focus is placed on recovery time. Eating well and training hard are only part of the endurance to being an athlete. CBD has been shown to accelerate recovery from injury, induce sounder sleep and reduce muscle pain.
CBD promotes a healthy inflammation response to normal everyday demands and can alleviate muscle aches and pains associated with exercise. This is why it is an excellent addition to a supplement regime. The human body naturally is equipped with an endocannabinoid system (known as ECS). CBD contains phytocannabinoids which are plant-based cannabinoids. This helps regulate the body’s response to exercise as they can modulate everyday inflammation and ease fitness induced discomfort. These compounds bind to cannabinoid receptors that are on your cells, much like a key fits into a lock. Once this connection has been made it can communicate to the cell, which can help the body through recovery.
Although many organizations regard CBD’s sibling, THC an illicit substance, the World Anti-Doping Agency allows the use of pure CBD Isolate. Seeing as CBD is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid it is now being regarded as a potential supplement. It’s anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-anxiety and analgesic (pain relieving) properties make it a prime candidate for the lifestyles of athletes.
In 2020, Sports Medicine published a review analyzing CBD trials. They found that it promoted positive physiological, biochemical and psychological benefits that are valuable to athletes. One main finding was that CBD helped alleviate inflammatory pain. This is caused by tissue damage and neuropathic pain that is caused by either nerve damage or irritation. This is especially useful for endurance athletes where repetitive and long-distance workouts can cause inflammation and irritation in peripheral nerves.
CBD may also protect against gastrointestinal damage. This is particularly useful for athletes who engage in highly strenuous activity. This reduces their oxygen and nutrient delivery to their gastrointestinal tract (GI). GI stress can be detrimental to an athlete as it can negatively influence their exercise performance and recovery. It can lead to nausea, vomiting and impaired nutritional uptake. CBD has been shown to reduce tissue damage and restore the permeability of the intestine.
It has also been shown that CBD may support healthy bone deposition and help heal fractures. Bone health can sometimes be compromised by traumatic injuries or inadequate energy availability.
CBD and the Brain
CBD also helps athletes manage sports performance anxiety. Such anxiety can cause sleep loss, increased energy expenditure and compromised nutritional intake. CBD’s neuroprotective properties have also been singled out for their potential to counteract negative effects following a concussion. These are considered mild traumatic brain injuries and can lead to harmful long-term complications such as neuronal damage. It also inhibits oxidative stress and neuroinflammation which helps counteract neuronal damage in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. These findings are very promising as there are no current effective pharmacological therapies to manage mild traumatic brain injury. Repetitive traumatic brain injury, which can be quite common in contact sports, can lead to chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
There is lots of promising research that shows CBD is a perfect supplement for athletes. Not only does it help with muscle recovery, but performance anxiety, concussion-induced injury and gastrointestinal health.
