Spasms can hit anytime and in any situation – those with a prior history can attest to that.
Spasms can be caused by many bodily interactions, but what they all share is that they’re sudden, extremely uncomfortable, and in severe cases coupled with cramping, downright painful.
While it would be relieving to know that there is a surefire way to prevent muscle spasms, that’s not the case. However, you can still very effectively treat spasms when they do show up so that they don’t need to rob you of a day’s worth of joy or a night’s worth of sleep.
One of the best ways to do so is with the help of a little miracle worker called CBD. A cannabinoid, CBD is a formidable natural remedy that has been studied for its ability to reduce treat pain for many years – which makes it a perfect candidate for muscle spasms.
But how exactly does it work, and what do you need to know about using CBD oil for muscle spasms? Tag along and find out in this guide!
What are muscle spasms?
First of all, let’s look at what we’re dealing with.
Spasms, put bluntly, are nothing more than your muscles engaging – flexing, that is – when they’re not supposed to. Most of the time, this will happen many times per second, creating a kind of twitching or shaking motion that can throw you off balance physically and mentally.
If the spasming persists, it can make you feel tired, sore, or dizzy, leading to further complications.
Spasms and cramps can be caused by many things, but the most widespread tend to have something to do with how you use your body throughout the day.
If you work a day job that involves a lot of manual labor, some of your affected muscles in the legs, arms, or back, for instance, might show twitching or spasms if they’ve been overly strained.
Even sitting for a big part of the day, as is common in an office setting, can tire out your hamstrings and cause them to twitch or spasm out, often during the night.
Muscle spasms and the endocannabinoid system
When a muscle spasm, a cramp, or a similar symptom shows up, what happens is essentially a miscommunication between our muscles and our central nervous system.
The muscle is either so sore, so fatigued, or so underutilized that it sends the wrong signals to the brain, accidentally activating and deactivating without any proper outside stimuli, resulting in twitching.
Much of this behind-the-scenes miscommunication happens in the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a region of the brain responsible for our feelings of pain, pleasure, and various hormone-related functions.
At any given point, our body uses the ECS to try and achieve homeostasis, that is, a perfect biochemical balance. When we are near homeostasis, it’s easy to tell: we are calm, free of stress, pain, and other complaints. In other words, we feel just right!
This fact forms an important piece in the picture of how CBD manages to deal with spasms in the muscles so well.
To find out exactly how, read below!
How does CBD help pain management?
So, where exactly does CBD fit in regarding the struggle against muscle spasms?
In simple terms, CBD works so well against spasms, cramps, and other ailments because it contacts the endocannabinoid system within the brain, relaxing the nerves.
The ECS is sensitive to the components found in cannabis, CBD chiefly among them. When CBD enters our system, it contacts some of the ECS receptors, which essentially tell the brain to set a course for homeostasis, triggering a variety of (mostly hormonal) effects.
That puts up a roadblock in the nervous system that doesn’t let through misfires such as the ones responsible for spasming. In cases of painful cramps, CBD is also doubly helpful as it can, by interacting with the ECS, cause our body to reduce pain signals, giving some serious relief.
If you imagine spasms as the result of an internal imbalance and CBD as a neurological balancer, then it is very easy to see how the equation works!
Benefits of using CBD oil to treat muscle spasms
CBD oil is being studied for its effectiveness against muscle spasms, but why pick it above other potential treatments?
One big reason would be that CBD is relatively risk-free. Most people taking spasms medication are usually prescribed strong painkillers or anti-seizure drugs.
These work quite well, but they might come with a host of side effects ranging from mild discomfort to reactions so strong that they require medicines of their own to counteract.
By comparison, CBD is non-toxic and puts little if any strain on the body during use. Some people with rare allergies might find that their system doesn’t accept CBD without strong side effects, but the vast majority of the population has statistically reported no major issues in the past.
Just like its lab-grown counterparts, however, CBD is incredibly well-studied. While other cannabinoids are still shrouded in mystery, CBD has enjoyed decades upon decades of tight scientific scrutiny and is usually chosen as a “model cannabinoid” in many surveys and clinical experiments.
Effectiveness of using CBD oil to treat muscle spasms
CBD might be safer to use and gentler to the body than many comparable remedies for muscle spasms, but is it as effective as well?
In short: yes.
Time after time, study after study confirm that CBD is effective when it comes to promoting pain reduction and helping combat physical anxiety, spasms, and cramps, among many other ailments.
Countless people already use CBD oil to treat the side effects of conditions like IBS or arthritis and assist in recovery from injuries like shin splints. Muscle spasms are solely one more avenue where CBD displays its advantages and natural health benefits exceedingly well.
Does CBD oil stop muscle spasms?
CBD oil may definitely treat the symptoms of muscle spasms and make them many times more manageable. But can the cannabinoid actually stop spasms from occurring in the first place?
As far as the current state of science goes, we’re not quite sure. There are plenty of studies that hint at CBD’s ability to make the muscles less sensitive toward causing spasms and cramps over time.
However, the real causality of this effect is still not established, especially because not everyone seems to be experiencing it in the same way.
Ultimately, it will depend on the exact cause of your spasms. For example, many experience spasming in times of high stress – CBD would be great for this, as it may reduce the release of stress hormones via the ECS.
Can CBD oil relieve pain from cramps?
Spasms and cramping go hand in hand. Often, an outbreak of the one can directly lead to the other.
While spasms can be nothing more than a distraction, cramps can result in serious pains that prevent you from getting a healthy amount of sleep and render you entirely bedridden.
Fortunately, CBD is highly effective against cramping, too. As mentioned before, CBD is a very potent analgesic and calms down the nervous system’s pain receptors.
Countless people rely on CBD oils to handle pain-related conditions, including muscle cramps.
How to use CBD oil for muscle spasms
There are two primary ways of using CBD oil. For the management of muscle spasms or cramps, both are viable – you’ll need to choose which suits your needs best!
The first method is to take CBD oil orally. You can add a few drops to a glass of water or a drink of your choice, of course. But for a quicker onset of effects and faster absorption, it’s more efficient to apply and let the drops absorb sublingually (under your tongue).
Either way, by using CBD oil orally, you will find that its effects spread out equally throughout the whole body and remain for a long time.
This is especially effective when your spasms or cramps pop up across different areas of the body or when you mainly want to treat the resulting pain or stress. It’s also great for promoting healthy sleep!
The other method involves applying CBD oil topically to the specific location where the spasms seem to be coming from. In heavily localized cases, this can provide relief quickly and more intensely where it matters.
Best CBD oil for muscle spasms
While CBD oil might make for a great remedy against spasms that’s mostly free of pitfalls, choosing the right product is no easy feat.
Choosing from a trusted brand like FOCL ensures that you’re on the safe side – you wouldn’t want to fall for a CBD oil scam online!
Our mainstay product for pain relief and many other uses is our Premium CBD Drops. Made entirely with organic ingredients without the use of any artificial fillers or non-plant-based additives, these are some of the purest and most highly-concentrated CBD oil products on the market.
Formulated for a daily dose of 1ml, the CBD drops are also great value and come in plenty of sizes and flavors, depending on your preference.
If your spasms are robbing you of the sleep you deserve and that your body needs dearly, you might need special attention to get back on track without risking serious side effects of sleep deprivation further down the line.
Our Sleep Drops are made to help you along that journey. They combine the high-potency CBD extract you’ll also find in our other products with additional CBN, MCT oil, and extracts of lavender and peppermint.
All of these combine to make one of the most effective sleep tonics around – excellent for relief from strong cramping or spasms!
Finally, for quick-and-easy topical application and even quicker results, go for our Relief Cream. With the power of CBD and enhanced by aloe vera, shea butter, menthol, and more, the Relief Cream soothes the skin, the nerves, and the muscles.
It does so without the use of any artificial ingredients or harmful substances whatsoever, making it a great alternative to traditional painkillers. What’s more, it’s incredibly easy to use and provides great value at $39 per bottle!
Choosing a CBD medication for muscles
Wherever you’re shopping, here are some general tips for finding the best CBD-based product for your muscular spasms or cramping problems.
First, make sure to check that the product you’re looking at was made in a facility that is certified independently – look for a label such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), which is found on the packaging of every product made by FOCL and other trusted brands.
Optimally, the CBD product in question will also have gone through third-party lab testing to ensure its potency, ingredients, purity, and health factors are in line with the manufacturer’s claims.
Finally, assess your own needs and preferences with regard to the potency of the CBD oil, cream, or tincture you’re considering. Low-potency products, dosed at 500mg or less, are excellent for beginners and provide milder effects.
At about 600 to 1500mg, you’re looking at the midfield. All-round CBD oils perfect for day-to-day use can be found here. They’re potent enough to manage serious symptoms but not too potent to be inefficient in terms of price or overbearing in terms of effects.
Finally, for serious cases involving extreme cramping and chronic pain, it might be best to go for particularly potent oils. These can range from 2000 to 3000mg or even more per dose.
If you’re not sure what kind of dosage would be best for you, we recommend consulting with a physician beforehand.
