Cannabis Compounds Effective At Mitigating Chronic Pain And Improving Sleep According To New Study
Neuropathic pain is a major health condition affecting a significant percentage of the global population. Neuropathic pain involves a patient’s nervous system being damaged or not working correctly due to various reasons.
Common causes of neuropathic pain include, but are not limited to, nerve pressure or nerve damage after surgery or trauma, infections, cancer, extreme alcohol use, and conditions such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes.
A common condition that accompanies chronic neuropathic pain is an inability to gain proper sleep. Neuropathic pain patients often report difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep, largely due to the pain that they are experiencing.
A team of researchers in Canada recently examined randomized controlled trial data involving neuropathic pain, sleep, and medical cannabis use and the results of their research was very insightful. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:
Toronto, Canada: Cannabis compounds are effective at mitigating chronic neuropathic pain and improving sleep, according to a review of randomized controlled trial data published in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
A team of Canadian researchers evaluated results from nine trials that compared synthetic and natural cannabinoids to placebo in patients suffering from neuropathic pain syndromes.
They reported: “Meta-analysis of data from six studies showed that cannabinoids were associated with a significant improvement in sleep quality. Meta-analysis of data from eight studies showed a significant reduction in daily pain scores in the cannabinoid group.”
Authors concluded: “Cannabinoids have a role in treating chronic neuropathic pain as evidenced by significant improvements in sleep quality, pain intensity, and PGIC [Patients’ Global Impression of Change scale]. More research is needed to comprehensively evaluate the impact of cannabinoids on sleep health and analgesic efficacy.”
Survey data consistently reports that patients who use cannabis products typically do so to mitigate chronic pain and improve sleep. Among patients in US states where medical cannabis access is permitted, over 60 percent are qualified to use it to treat pain.
Full text of the study, “Evaluating the impact of cannabinoids on sleep health and pain in patients with chronic neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” appears in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. Additional information on cannabis and chronic pain is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.