Training at an elite level every day puts an enormous amount of stress on one’s muscles and bones, and has inevitable impacts on the body – in both good ways and bad. In the long run, it will inevitably result in injuries and pain, and so many athletes eventually resort to some kind of pain management medication to cope with their injuries. 

In recent years, many professional athletes have turned to cannabidiol or CBD, seeking relief in the oil-based derivative of marijuana. In 2020 it will, in fact, become one of the most popular topics in the sporting world, as many deliberate over its many pros and cons in terms of using it as an athlete. Legally, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has decided it does not belong on the list of prohibited substances, and so its legality is most certainly not an issue. The question many student athletes have, however, is how will it help me on my sporting journey? And by purchasing CBD oil products available on one of the many easily findable websites today, like https://nanocraftcbd.com/collections/cbd-oil-drops will it help me or hinder me?

It could help with pain relief

Research suggests that CBD can help relieve pain (including musculoskeletal pain from exercise, as well as stiff joints) and reduce inflammation, which would most certainly be useful for athletes recovering from or suffering an exercise-induced injury. That being said, a lot more research needs to be done to get definitive proof of this, and there is the unfortunate potential for CBD oil drops to inflict unwanted side effects that could affect athletic performance.

It could lead to improved sleep

Getting some decent shut eye is critical to the ongoing performance of student athletes, especially during a time where academic pressure, beer-fuelled late nights and early rises can put intense pressure on one’s energy levels. If an athlete’s sleep problems stem from pain, anxiety, or any other condition that CBD might be able to help, it might help that person experience an improved quality of sleep. Why? Because CBD oil inhibits the reuptake of adenosine, which in turn inhibits the release of neurotransmitters, slowing down brain activity, helping you feel calmer, and leading to sleep. 

It could mess with other medications

If you take anxiety medication, blood thinners or other types of pain relievers, cannabidiol could severely interfere with these, by blocking critical enzymes that control the way medicine is absorbed. 

“Let’s say you’re on a medication like warfarin or Coumadin, a really common medication we give to a lot of patients to thin their blood,” Michelle Henry, a Harvard-trained Mohs surgeon told Huffington Post. “If [CBD] is blocking the metabolism of warfarin, that warfarin is now higher and more active and can either become toxic or cause other problems. In the case of a blood thinner like warfarin, other problems could entail a traumatic bleed or a dangerous hemorrhage.”

So before you add a daily dose of CBD oil to your list of daily medications, make sure it won’t interfere with anything else you regularly take as an athlete.

There are countless pros and countless cons when it comes to taking CBD oil for improving athletic performance. What you need to do is sit down and truly think about whether or not it is the right decision for you as a person.