Whether in the gym or due to day-to-day activities, many of us have experienced the dreaded muscle soreness before. Trying many remedies from ice baths to topical creams with the hopes of mitigating that stiff, uncomfortable feeling, in order to get back to normal mobility. However, have you ever thought of utilizing CBD and its many benefits to help? Today we are going to break all of this down to show you why we at The Leaf NY have found CBD to be an effective way to aid in post workout recovery, with little side effects.
CBD as an Anti-Inflammatory
CBD has been praised for its anti-inflammatory properties in recent years. A 2018 review published in Frontiers in Neurology concluded that “CBD is an effective way of improving pain and mobility in patients with multiple sclerosis since it reduces inflammation.”
The role CBD can play in aiding and speeding up the muscle recovery process is by, yes you guessed it, the reduction of inflammation. Initially, inflammation is a good thing, helping damaged muscled recover, allowing the tissues to grow back stronger. It’s the excess inflammatory response, however, that can idle the recovery process by leading to harm of larger muscle groups contributing to muscle damage. This is the reason that most people, after an intense workout session tend to incorporate preventative measures to mitigate inflammation. We suggest incorporating CBD to aid in the recovery process of exercise-related injuries. One way this can be done, also suggested by Dr. Alen Bayer (sports medicine doctor and executive medical director of the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in California) is to apply a “CBD salve to the injured area.”
CBD as an Anti-Catabolic
Cortisol is the “stress hormone” that is released when the body is undergoing a stressful situation. This hormone can impact the growth of new muscle tissue by reducing the synthesis of protein. In simpler terms, protein synthesis and growth of new muscle tissue are two things that are essential for building muscle. CBD has also been found to be an anti-catabolic, in other words means protecting muscle mass in the body from being broken down.
Along with all of the benefits CBD oil provides- research suggests that the combination of CBD oil as first an anti-inflammatory, and second an anti-catabolic, leads to the promotion of excellent muscle recovery and growth.
CBD Pre & Post Workout
We have found that CBD can be beneficial and utilized as both part of your pre and post workout routine. Initially CBD can be beneficial to be utilized pre-workout with the reduction of blood pressure. This will allow for increased endurance during your exercise- mitigating stress and fatigue.
CBD’s benefits don’t stop there. It can be just as beneficial to utilize post-workout as well. This is due to CBD’s properties aiding in the alleviation of pain, muscle tension and the improvement of sleep quality. Sleep quality? Why is that important? It is crucial to get a good night’s sleep if you want your muscles to recovery properly after a workout. Inadequate sleep can inhibit the body’s recovery process, therefore resulting in a lack of muscle strength. Whether it’s taking a few drops of our full spectrum CBD oil, relaxing in a warm bath with a CBD bath bomb or anything in between, Green Therapy has you covered with all of your pre or post workout essentials.
Muscle Soreness & CBD
Our bodies crave balance, but adequate workouts tend to disrupt the equilibrium state. Majority of the medical community refers to the pain, stiffness and fatigue individuals experience after a strenuous workout as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Throughout a workout, tearing down of muscle fibers occurs, which is due to continuous contraction and relaxation of muscle groups- for example, doing multiple sets of squats, pushups or whatever your favorite exercise is! As scary as it may sound, tearing down of muscle fibers is important because it allows for the muscle fibers to grow back stronger- and as mentioned earlier in this blog post, our bodies natural response to this is to kick the inflammatory response into gear, helping these damaged muscle fibers recover.
Delayed onset muscle soreness typically goes away on its own within 3-5 days. As an individual consistently trains a muscle group, however, DOMS will lessen as the muscle fibers strengthen and require more exertion. With all this being said, we do recommend individuals to incorporate CBD to help lessen the length of time soreness is experiences through the reduction of inflammation. Knowing that athletes cannot afford to take that amount of time off training, and most individuals, in general, typically do not desire to take that many days off of their gym regime.
Sources:
https://dailycbd.com/en/condition/muscle-recovery/
https://blog.insidetracker.com/inflammation-affecting-your-training-and-recovery
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2828614/
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/fitness/articles/2018-05-11/can-cbd-products-improve-your-fitness-results
http://www.trilliumfitness.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Chung-2003-DOMS.pdf
https://www.eaze.com/article/cbd-should-i-take-before-pre-workout-inflammation-stamina-boost
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