Chronic pain is one of the most common conditions for medical marijuana use. Often, patients are turning towards this alternative option to lower dependence, or use altogether, on prescription medication, like opioids. Through the latest research, and a greater political acceptance, the number of people using medical marijuana for chronic pain is quickly growing.
Learn more on how medical marijuana helps with chronic pain!
What Is Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is continuous pain within the body, including aches in the joints, muscles, and bones. The condition means pain weeks, months, or even years after the first detection. Often people who have experienced surgery, back problems, migraines, arthritis, nerve damage, infections, and Fibromyalgia are more susceptible. The cause comes from nerve signals activated even as the injury has healed.
Currently, over 25.3 million Americans experience chronic pain, and that number is climbing every year.
Current Solutions For Chronic Pain
Common solutions have included treatment through opioids and other prescription drugs. The American people are learning that opioid treatment comes with a price. It’s estimated that over 2.1 million Americans suffer from some form of opioid addiction. Side effects of opioids can be deadly, as in 2016 opioid addiction claimed over 64,000 American lives. This is more than the Vietnam war, sparking a national declaration of an opioid epidemic in 2017. Other solutions include electrical stimulation, nerve blocks, and surgery. Unfortunately, many of these solutions bare risk of being ineffective, and can trigger negative side effects.
Because of the vast list of side effects, more and more patients are turning toward medical marijuana to help with their chronic pain. Medical marijuana is showing to help patients get the relief they need while reducing adverse effects of treatment.
How Medical Marijuana Helps With Chronic Pain
Many patients report medical marijuana to be an extremely effective alternative for chronic pain treatment. According to Mark Ware, MD, about 10% to 15% of patients attending a chronic pain clinic use cannabis as part of their pain control strategy.
Medical experts and researchers attribute the plants pain relieving properties to the natural cannabinoids found in medical marijuana. Those same properties are made naturally in the body and are used in fighting inflammation and pain.
Conditions patients report feeling relief through medical marijuana include:
- Arthritis
- Cancer related pain
- Central nervous system issues
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- General pain
- HIV/AIDS related pain
- Headaches or migraines
- Injury related pain
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Low back pain
- MS
- Neck pain
- TMJ disorder
- Sciatica
- And more
The Research On Medical Marijuana And Chronic Pain
Numerous studies are supporting patient claims that medical marijuana is helping treat their chronic pain. Twenty eight peer reviewed studies, led by Harvard research teams, support the use of cannabinoids to treat medical and pain issues. A recent study conducted by the University of Michigan, published in the Journal of Pain, showed that medical marijuana improved patient’s quality of life, reduced opioid use by an average of 64%, and decreased side effects of other medications.
The evidence is ever growing, with a growing number of studies pointing to similar conclusions.
How To Get A Medical Marijuana Card
To get a medical marijuana card to treat chronic pain, you’ll need to check your states regulations. If you are located in California, Nevada, or New York, you can get your medical marijuana card from the comfort of your own home with PrestoDoctor. PrestoDoctor offers online medical marijuana card evaluations. Get yours today!
