Cannabis and CBD for athletes

Cannabis offers a number of applications for athletes to improve their health and optimize their performance. The CBD oil can improve mood and overall well-being, while providing a natural alternative to post-competition anti-inflammatory medications.

In addition, cannabis can be used for nausea, while physiotherapy CBD creams are perfect for muscle massage or joint pain relief. Last but not least, hemp protein shakes are ideal for sports recovery!

Use of cannabis and CBD for athletes

Cannabis is an exceptional plant with multiple uses for sports performance. Among its numerous applications, the following stand out:

• CBD oil for mood, volume phases and general well-being.
• Natural alternative to post-competition anti-inflammatory drugs.
• For nausea.
• Physiotherapy creams with CBD for muscle massage and joint pain.
• Hemp protein supplement as a sports recovery shake.

CBD oil in athletes

In general, one feels comfortable with the release of endorphins that sport generates, that supernatural feeling of happiness and hard-won satisfaction that invades us after an episode of extraordinary activity.

Surprisingly, that post-exercise feeling of happiness and well-being seems not to be due to endorphins, as previously thought, but to a substance called anandamide. Anandamide is an endocannabinoid a type of cannabinoid manufactured by the human body. Cannabinoids are rightly called happiness molecules.

Molecularly, anandamide is very similar and virtually indistinguishable from the substance THC, one of the best known phytocannabinoids in cannabis, specifically, the most abundant component of marijuana.

Anandamide is a chemical compound secreted by our brain and released into the nervous system. Scientific studies have determined that after exercise there is a change in positive mood and an elevation of anandamide levels(1).

The word comes from Sanskrit and means “mixture of happiness“. Indeed, it is responsible for the feeling of ecstasy, and may play an important role in the reduction of stress, depression, nervousness and all kinds of nervous manifestations in which the feeling of personal well-being is important. Anandamide is very beneficial for increasing positive moods.

CBD enhances post-exercise well-being

CBD increases the secretion of anandamide and expands its effect in the body by preventing its early decomposition(2), which provides exceptional advantages for the treatment of nervous states and for enhancing the benefits of sports.

CBD oil: A possible post-competition anti-inflammatory drug

Many athletes in post-competition resort to anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen or even more powerful drugs. The body’s reaction to an over-natural effort as elite athletes do is strong, and can only be alleviated with the use of exogenous substances that reduce the body’s inflammatory response.

In that sense, many athletes have turned to CBD oil as a natural anti-inflammatory after physical exertion, such as marathons or competition, replacing conventional medications, with more possible adverse effects.

Nor should we forget that CBD has analgesic properties that reduce the sensation of pain, enhancing the anti-inflammatory effect.

In addition to these properties, it has an antioxidant effect, which improves post-exercise recovery. At this point, it is important to stress the importance of professional advice, as well as proper training, healthy diet and adequate rest for sports performance and recovery.

CBD to prevent vomiting in high-performance athletes

Another use of CBD in athletes is precisely as an antiemetic. In intense sports, the body may feel nausea and dizziness. According to scientific studies, CBD could act as a viable antiemetic, which can help with dizziness and feelings of distress in exceptional physical preparation(3).

Physiotherapy CBD creams for muscular pain

Some additional benefits of CBD for athletes would be applied topically on the skin. Currently there are specific physiotherapy products to treat muscle pain with CBD.

These products contain, in addition to CBD, essential oils and plant extracts with properties to relieve muscle pain, providing a feeling of relief and well-being.

Muscle spasms and contractures, injuries and nerve or spinal cord damage that cause muscle pain may be improved with CBD.

Physiotherapy massages with CBD

CBD applied in the form of muscle and sports massages, has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties to relieve muscle and joint pain. It acts through different methods, including the influence of the TRPV1 receptor, glycine receptors and adenosine receptors.

CBD for bodybuilders

CBD oil can also be orexigenic, to increase appetite. It is used in volume phases to stimulate hunger and increase food and caloric intake, necessary to build muscle mass. It is a popular use used by bodybuilders, MMA fighters and weightlifters.

These are just some of the recent scientific research showing how CBD oil helps elite competitors, as well as anyone interested in improving results and routine with respect to physical exercise.

Hemp protein for athletes

Finally, Cannabis also provides the best protein supplement for athletes. More and more gymnasts are using hemp protein shakes to increase their muscle mass and complete their workouts with optimal nutrition.

The hemp protein shake provides not only a large amount of protein-equivalent to the amount of protein in cow’s whey protein, but it has a superior protein quality.

Indeed, hemp protein is the type of protein richest in alanine, an amino acid involved in muscle rest and recovery. It also provides Omega 3, branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), all the essential amino acids, fiber, and numerous minerals.

Experience with CBD in elite sports

Perhaps one of the best potential advantages for exercise devotees is CBD oil’s potential ability to decrease pain and discomfort after exercise. This is not really news; even gold medalist Olympians like Ross Rebagliati have been using CBD for a long time. Luckily for Olympic athletes, CBD is no longer a restricted substance.

Other professional athletics affiliations are not as innovative as the International Olympic Committee, which means there are a lot of skilled competitors, and weekend wrestlers or athletes, are forced to manage deep agony from injuries sustained in the game they love.

Anyone who plays (or has played) a game understands the searing pain that is the inescapable result. Full physical games often incorporate an excessive focus on the joints, making continuous unexpected movements in the body and head.

Players of ball sports, such as baseball, basketball and soccer, expend enormous amounts of energy running around the field or court, causing massive stress on their joints and ligaments, which eventually causes inflammation and regularly disables exercise.

However, all skilled competitors, from tennis players to figure skaters, are familiar with the idea of “playing through pain.” All things being equal, injuries mean that time is away from the game, which means fear of losing their ‘focused advantage’ and possibly cash or sponsorship if they take the expected time to recover.

We hope you have learned a lot about all the benefits of CBD for sports practice. Did you know these effects, have you tried it? We’d love to read you in comments!