What is Arthritis and Joint Pain?

Arthritis is an ailment that damages your joints. It’s the inflammation in your joints.

While..

Joint pain is pain around or in the joints, but it’s not always caused by arthritis.

What’s the difference between Arthritis and Joint Pain?

Arthritis and joint pain are related, but they are slightly different. Let’s see the key distinction between the two.

Joint pain is a symptom. It’s a sensation; arthritis is one reason you may feel it. Whereas arthritis is a diagnosis, meaning the cause of a disease.

Arthritis is the reason for the majority of joint pain cases.

​

Let’s dive a little deeper into arthritis.

​

Arthritis is an umbrella term for over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation and pain. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis are common types.

​

Arthritis can be felt in your hands, wrists, knees, hips, ankles, shoulders, etc.

How to know if you have arthritis and joint pain? You need to know the signs of arthritis.

Signs of Arthritis

If you have any of the following, you might have arthritis:

• Stiffness
• Redness
• Pain in the joints
• Swelling in the joints
• Warmth in the joint region
• Tenderness or sensitivity around a joint

Types of Arthritis

Arthritis is of many types. However, the most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, and gout.

Osteoarthritis

When cartilage gets damaged, it’s called osteoarthritis. The cartilage is like a cushion for the joints, which allows for free movement, but when the cartilage breaks down, the joints may get restricted, resulting in pain and low mobility.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition. In this condition, the immune system attacks the joints as it can’t distinguish between the body and foreign elements. This attack starts from the lining of the joints and is the reason for inflammation and tissue damage.

Gout

Uric Acid crystals develop in the joints because of increasing uric acid in the blood. The high levels of uric acid are called hyperuricemia. It usually happens in the big toe, like a burning sensation.

Other Causes of Arthritis

Injury

An injury, be it from sports or a sudden accident that hasn’t healed properly, can lead to degenerative arthritis.

Infection

Infections like Lyme disease can trigger joint pain and other problems such as nervous system issues, heart problems, sluggish memory, etc.

Tendonitis

Overuse of tendons can cause inflammation; this is called tendonitis. Tendons are the bands connecting the bones (joints) that are present in the elbow, heel, and shoulder.

All these things can cause arthritis, but is there an effective way to reduce arthritis (joint pain and inflammation) without relying on synthetic medications and surgery?

Yes, there is a natural way to reduce arthritis and joint pain.=

It’s called CBD.

Let’s explore this natural solution.

Can CBD help with Arthritis and Joint Pain?

What is CBD?

CBD ( cannabidiol) is one of the active compounds found in the cannabis plant. It’s one of the many cannabinoids found alongside THC, CBG, CBN, terpenes, etc.

Properties of CBD

CBD has medicinal properties such as:

• Antioxidant
• Anti-anxiety
• Anti-tumor effects
• Anti -Inflammatory effects
• Analgesic (pain-relieving) properties

There are more medicinal properties of CBD that help with stress, sleep, and other ailments as well.

How CBD works in the body

CBD influences the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a complex cell signaling system that regulates important functions such as:

• Regulation of the immune system
• Relaxation of the body
• Sleep regulation
• Metabolism
• Memory
• Mood

When the ECS gets dysfunctional, the body experiences many problems like stress, lethargy, weakened immunity, and much more. But CBD makes the ECS functional, and this keeps the body in homeostasis and free from ailments.

How does CBD exactly reduce arthritis and joint pain?

The main reason CBD can help with arthritis and joint pain is due to CBD’s pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Since pain and inflammation are the main signs of arthritis and joint pain, CBD becomes a good choice for helping with this problem.

​

The ECS works throughout the pain pathway, and CBD helps to reduce pain sensitivity.

​

The ECS mainly functions through two receptors: CB1 and CB2 receptors.  The CB1 receptors are densely packed in the pain processing areas like the spinal cord, thalamus, amygdala, and dorsal root ganglia. When the endocannabinoids like anandamide and 2-AG activate the CB1 receptors, the CB1 receptors reduce the release of neurotransmitters that are involved in pain signalling and decrease neural activity, meaning the transmission of pain signals to the brain is reduced.

​

CBD not only reaches the brain but also the pain region. It reduces the pain signals from the inflamed joint but also helps to reduce the actual pain by regulating overactive cytokines (proteins that help deal with infection, but too many can be harmful, causing inflammation and autoimmune diseases)  

​

CBD has been shown to be effective against inflammatory arthritis in mice due to its immunosuppressive and anti – inflammatory effects, and multiple animal studies show potential.

​

CBD’s antioxidant properties help with reducing oxidative stress. If oxidative stress is left unchecked, it can increase the inflammation of the already present arthritis.

​

Recent literature indicates that 62% of CBD users are treating a medical condition, of which anxiety, chronic pain, and arthritis were the most frequent (Corroon & Kight, 2018).

​-The CBD Bible

​

Doctor’s consultation

Before trying CBD products for arthritis and joint pain, make sure to consult with a doctor.

A doctor can help you assess your situation with arthritis and joint pain:

​

A doctor’s guidance will help you effectively relieve arthritis and joint pain.

Conclusion

Arthritis and joint pain can restrict you from going on trips, playing with your kids, being with your spouse, and living with ease. Since inflammation and pain are the root causes of arthritis and joint pain, you can stop arthritis and joint pain with the help of CBD’s pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties.

Source link

Vaporizing marijuana releases far fewer harmful chemicals than smoking joints does, according to a new study.

“These results demonstrate that combustion—not cannabis itself—is the primary driver of harmful inhalation byproducts, and that controlled vaporization can significantly reduce exposure to these compounds,” the study conducted and self-published by the vape device company PAX found.

Lighting marijuana on fire through smoking releases a number of harmful or potentially harmful compounds (HPHCs)—including benzene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Vaporization, in contrast, heats cannabis to below the point of combustion while still releasing cannabinoids and terpenes.

The research—conducted by Richard Rucker, who serves as PAX’s director of product integrity, and Derek Shiokari, a senior chemist and data scientist at the company—compared aerosol generated by PAX’s dry herb vaporization device (FLOW) and its oil vaporization device (TRIP) with smoke from combusted marijuana joints.

The team compared levels of 16 HPHCs between the methods of consumption, all using the same batch of ground Lemon Cake Batter cannabis from Humboldt Farms.

“Across all measured analytes, vaporization reduced harmful byproducts by up to 99% compared to joint smoke,” they concluded.

Via PAX.

“Combustion produces harmful byproducts—whether it’s tobacco, wood or cannabis,” Rucker said in a press release. “By heating cannabis without burning it, vaporization significantly reduces the formation of these toxic compounds. It’s the same plant, but completely different exposure. This research helps quantify the difference, giving consumers clearer information about how their choices impact exposure.”

When cannabis is lit on fire via smoking, its components like cannabinoids, terpenes, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates experience thermal degradation and oxidation. That leads to the formation of particulate matter and generates additional compounds such as volatile organic compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen-containing compounds, among others, the study said.

“Combustion of cannabis plant material produces a complex aerosol containing numerous harmful byproducts generated through pyrolysis and oxidation. Under matched puffing conditions, vaporization of cannabis flower reduced exposure to these harmful compounds by up to 99% compared with joint smoke. These findings demonstrate that combustion is the primary source of toxic chemical exposure during cannabis smoking, and that vaporization technologies can substantially reduce formation of these byproducts.”

“Across the sixteen quantified HPHCs, vapor aerosol contained up to 99% lower concentrations compared with joint smoke,” the paper concluded. “These results demonstrate dramatic reductions in key combustion markers including aromatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes.”

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

Source link