We all fear pain, no matter the type or severity. However, what if there is an effective method to relieve the most severe pains? Thus, this is what medical marijuana aims to do for people with chronic nerve pain. This article will explore nerve damage pain and how accessing medical marijuana is a vital step toward recovery.
What Is Nerve Damage Pain?
Nerve damage pain is also known as neuropathic pain. It is a chronic pain that doesn’t come from your body’s tissues or muscles but comes from the nerves themselves. When you have neuropathic pain, your nerve fibers are damaged and send shooting sensations of intense discomfort that become more and more difficult to treat over time.
Several factors, including the following, can cause neuropathic pain:
- Diabetes
- Amputation
- Long-term use of medications
- Alcoholism
- Facial nerve problems
- HIV/AIDS
- Central nervous system disorders like stroke
- Shingles
Despite all these pain causes, thank goodness medicinal marijuana can help relieve neuropathic pain symptoms.
How Does Neuropathic Pain Happen?
It is important to know a little about how nerve fibers work. First, to understand how medical marijuana can help relieve neuropathic pain. Nerve fibers are receptors that transmit information from your body to your brain. These receptors can activate many things, including pressure, vibration, and even heat. When the receptors are activated, they send a message to the central nervous system for interpretation, leading to pain perception. Neuropathic pain occurs when nerves in some regions of the body experience damage that causes your nerve fibers to go out of control and become sensitive.
What Is Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana is a term for derivatives of the Cannabis sativa plant, used to ease symptoms caused by several particular medical conditions. In the past years, medical marijuana was found to offer numerous benefits to patients suffering from pain, severe nausea, chemotherapy symptoms, and more.
Medical Marijuana and Neuropathic Pain
Marijuana is known to contain chemicals that have analgesic properties. These chemicals are called cannabinoids. The two main types of cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol THC and cannabidiol CBD. THC is psychoactive, which means that it’s responsible for causing the high feeling associated with marijuana use. On the other hand, CBD does not cause any psychological response when used by itself.
It’s not uncommon for people who use marijuana to experience a decrease in chronic pain, and many of these patients go on to enjoy a better quality of life. The potential for marijuana to treat neuropathic pain is further supported by other studies that show that synthetic THC can have adverse effects, including the following:
- Hypertension
- Respiratory difficulties
- Acute renal failure
- Chest pain
- Muscle twitches
- Agitation
- Anxiety
Marijuana’s Anti-Nerve Damage Power
Cannabinoids target pain receptors in a specific way that can help to protect against damage to nerve fibers. Cannabinoid compounds in cannabis mimic similar compounds naturally occurring in your body, known as endocannabinoids.
The endocannabinoid system helps regulate the internal balance of chemicals in your body. It helps control your immune system, inflammation response, and pain perception. When the right stimuli activate these endocannabinoids, they trigger a chemical reaction that calms down pain signals, so you don’t experience discomfort.
Can Marijuana Help?
There’s no doubt that “street” marijuana can become intoxicating. However, with proper dosage and consumption methods, medical marijuana may help relieve people experiencing neuropathy. If you’re interested in finding out more about medical marijuana and how to treat chronic pain, contact a medical marijuana doctor online who will help you figure out the proper dosage and method of consumption for your unique needs. Medical marijuana is now a solid course of treatment in many conditions where other drugs or interventions failed to generate significant results. However, before you go to the dispensary, ensure that you and your doctor have exhausted all other more traditional medical options.
Conclusion
Many people with neuropathic pain experienced a decline in quality of life and severe pain that becomes more pronounced over time. It is because neuropathic pain is tough to treat, even with approved medications that have helped relieve pain in the past. Fortunately, people are beginning to realize that medical marijuana can effectively relieve painful symptoms of neuropathic pain.
