Many athletes are turning to CBD to help with muscle recovery after workouts and competition. CBD is helpful with numerous ailments, disorders, and even anxiety. It is of no surprise that it can also be used for muscle recovery. We will layout several ways using CBD can help you with muscle recovery between workouts and after injuries. We hope you will gain some new knowledge and want to give CBD a shot during your next workout.
CBD Helps Your Muscles Relax
Muscle tension is common with workouts and injuries. Any seasoned trainer will tell you that leg day is notorious for muscle tension and pain. Just getting off the toilet can be a challenge after a grueling leg workout. Muscle tension is normal and yet contributes to additional pain in the area. This is why many athletes and trainers will use muscle relaxants to help ease the tension so recovery is faster.
Some athletes have used benzodiazepines to help alleviate tension and pain. If you use some CBD gel capsules after your workout, you will find it has the same effect as benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are effective but can lead to an addiction. CBD is not addictive and can be used as needed.
CBD Reduces Inflammation
When micro-tears in the muscle occur during a workout, inflammation is our body’s natural reaction. The most common treatment for inflammation is icing the muscles. There are no conclusive studies that say icing can shorten recovery time. It certainly works, but recovery is the same with or without it. The best CBD oil helps ease tension and can shorten recovery time. Some athletes now use ice for the soothing it offers and CBD to help reduce the time it takes to recover.
CBD Helps You Sleep Better
Sleep issues are prominent in the US and there are many options to help with it. Sleep is important because our bodies need the downtime for repair. When we struggle with sleep, our bodies cannot do their job at repairing and maintaining. When we sleep, our bodies repair damaged proteins. It also removes cellular debris, converts lactic acid to glucose, and stimulates muscle cell differentiation.
While exercise is a good way to regulate sleep, other factors can still get in the way of healthy sleep. Environments can be too bright or too loud. You may have a sleep disorder or an illness. CBD helps in a few ways to get the sleep you need. If you have anxiety, CBD can help ease your mind so you can drift off to sleep. Since it can contribute to easing muscle tension and inflammation, it can also allow you to relax physically for sleep. Make sure you allow yourself enough time for 7-8 hours of sleep and maintain a healthy diet to boost the effects of CBD.
CBD Eases General Pain & Discomfort
Pain can be a deterrent to continuing workouts and the ability for your body to repair itself. CBD works in a few ways to help alleviate your pain so you can recover quickly. Vanilloid receptors have an effect on our pain tolerance and CBD can use those receptors to build your tolerance so you feel less. It can also inhibit pain and inflammatory transmissions to your spinal cord and brain.
CBD Increases Muscle Cell Differentiation
There have been interesting studies released about CBD and an increase in muscle cell differentiation. We need cell differentiation to produce new myofibrils (muscle fibers), which make up the muscles. When there is a muscle tear, our body sets out to create new myofibrils to compensate for those tears. This is how we build muscle and any increase in muscle cell differentiation is a welcome one. While CBD is assisting with the inflammation and pain, some will also help speed up the process of building new muscle fibers. This contributes to quicker recovery time and can help bulk you up.
CBD Lowers Cortisol Levels
Cortisol has an important function in helping the liver detoxify the body. It is housed in our adrenal glands and when our adrenaline kicks in, so does cortisol. This can be an okay thing but if there is too much, it can be damaging. When we workout, we raise those cortisol levels. This, in turn, can work against us in achieving muscle gains. It can create the “plateau” effect and lead to frustration. When we are sleep deprived, cortisol levels also rise. Maintaining a healthy cortisol level becomes even more important. Taking CBD before a workout can help keep them at a healthy level during the workout. If you take some before bed for sleep, it will also have the side effect of managing your cortisol levels.
CBD Speeds Injury Recovery
Technically, muscle tears are injuries to the body. But there are other injuries to consider. Sprained ankles, pulled muscles, and broken bones can be common after a workout or competition. These injuries can take longer to heal and recovery can be frustrating. Reducing inflammation, easing pain and muscle tension, and sleep help with these injuries. Using CBD while recovering from a serious injury can assist with your treatment. If your doctor prescribes you medication, be sure to talk with them about your use of CBD. CBD does have some interactions with medications. You won’t have to worry about something serious, it can cancel the effects of other meds. Some meds even reduce the effectiveness of CBD.
Conclusion
Athletes, trainers, and the average person in the gym can benefit greatly from using CBD for muscle recovery.
Folks who are new to workouts can find more motivation with the use of CBD. Athletes who need to maintain a specific weight or keep their stamina up will see it’s benefits. Trainers and those with specific muscle goals will be able to achieve them sooner. The injured may be able to cut down their healing time. The best thing about CBD is it’s not addictive and can be used as you need it. CBD is well worth the investment when you consider all the wonderful things it can do for us in our everyday lives.