CBD For Muscle Recovery: Everything You Need To Know
The popularity of CBD has risen tremendously over the last decade and still to this day continues to rise. This is for many reasons, but the main one being that the cannabis plant product has a huge amount of amazing health benefits.
One of these benefits that has helped a huge number of individuals is muscle recovery. CBD products are used by a huge number of high-performance elite athletes, sporting organisations, and everyday active individuals to help aid their recovery.
In this article, we will take a look at why our muscles need to recover, what happens if our muscles do not recover properly, what CBD is, and also how it helps to improve muscular recovery.
Why Do Our Muscles Need To Recover After Intense Exercise
During most exercises, but most notably strength-based exercises, muscle fibres are constantly forced to contract and stretch. This repeated strain then causes multiple micro tears in the muscle fibres which then lead to exercise-induced muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness, most commonly referred to as DOMS.
This destruction of the muscle fiber causes inflammatory responses that can significantly reduce an individual’s work capacity and performance. This, along with the muscle soreness that you experience, is a prime example of the importance of muscle recovery.
When muscles are allowed to rest and recover post-workout they can heal much quicker and grow back much stronger. This therefore allows individuals to increase their athletic performance and the functionality of their muscles.
What Happens If Your Muscles Do Not Recover Properly
Neglecting muscular recovery and overworking your muscles can lead to significant injuries such as strains, tears, ruptures, and more. This is because the body does not have enough time to properly recover from the repetitive trauma and micro tears caused by physical activity.
In the same way that allowing your muscles to properly recover helps them to grow back stronger, neglecting recovery can cause your muscles to weaken. Consistently mistreating your muscles can also lead to much more serious long-term conditions such as chronic pain and weakness. Such problems can have a significant impact on day-to-day wellness.
What Is CBD?
CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is one of over 113 identified cannabinoids in the cannabis hemp plant. Along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it makes up for over 40% of the cannabis plant extract. In the last decade, the cannabinoid’s popularity has grown drastically. This is because there have been many clinical trials that have shown the incredible effects of CBD and how it can benefit overall health and well-being.
Unlike THC, CBD is a non-psychoactive component and therefore does not alter the mind in any way or cause the ‘high’ often associated with marijuana. CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system to help regulate various psychological processes such as mood, sleep, pain and immune system response.
How Can CBD Help Muscle Recovery?
Active individuals and even professional athletes commonly use CBD products due to the cannabinoid benefits that can help speed up the recovery process. The most notable benefits of CBD that help muscular and workout recovery are:
Reduces Muscular Tension – CBD is an incredible natural muscle relaxer as it helps to slow the neurotransmitters that cause muscles to tense up and spasm. In addition to this, CBD can also help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, two things that can contribute to muscular tension. Reduced tension allows muscles to return to their natural relaxed state and also helps to improve blood flow and nutrient delivery to areas that need recovering.
Reduces Muscular Fatigue – CBD can target the endocannabinoid system (ECS) which plays a key role in regulating pain, inflammation and also muscular function. The CBD then collaborates with the ECS to help regulate many processes that have anti-inflammatory effects and pain management benefits.
Improve Sleep Quality – Once again, CBD’s ability to improve sleep quality comes from its ability to interact with the endocannabinoid system. This is because it can help to regulate various physiological processes that have a significant influence on sleep. In addition to this, CBD can help to reduce factors such as pain, inflammation, stress and anxiety which can all be associated with poor sleep.
Reduces DOMS – CBD has the ability to reduce muscle soreness by working with the ECS to mitigate both pain and inflammation. Sore muscles are caused by inflammation and swelling due to the microtears in muscle tissue caused by exercise. Using CBD can help to significantly reduce inflammation, improving blood flow and ensuring that muscles get the nutrients that they need to recover much quicker.
How Much CBD Do You Need To Help Muscle Recovery
CBD works for everyone in different amounts. What works for one person’s body may not work for someone else. That is why it is extremely important to experiment with the amount of CBD that you need to feel its full effects.
We would recommend that you start with lower doses of CBD if you are new to the cannabinoid product. You can then start incrementally increasing the dosage until you reach a dosage where you feel the full powerful effects of CBD.
What Are The Best Types Of CBD For Muscle Recovery
CBD Balms & Creams – CBD balms, creams, lotions, gels and other topicals are the most popular forms of CBD for muscle recovery purposes. This is because they can be applied directly to the muscles that are in need of recovery or pain relief. This direct application allows the CBD topicals to directly target the muscles that need soothing. Here at Miracle Leaf, we stock a number of different premium-quality CBD balms, CBD creams and other CBD Topicals.
CBD Oil – CBD oil is undoubtedly the most popular type of CBD product on the market. CBD oil interacts with the endocannabinoid system to reduce many neurological functions that lead to pain and inflammation. Both pain and Inflammation are two of the main factors that can slow down recovery. Here at Miracle Leaf, we stock a huge range of premium CBD oil supplements.
CBD Gummies & Softgels – Sleep is one of the most important factors that can improve recovery. We stock many premium quality CBD edibles products that can help to improve the quality of your sleep and therefore speed up your recovery.
