Whether it’s after a long workout or a moving injury, soreness and stiffness can complicate anyone’s life, but they don’t have to. With the rise of opioid addiction, is it possible that marijuana and CBD can alleviate some of the symptoms of sports and back injuries?

A study published in 2017 in Health Affairs found that this is precisely what’s happening in states with medical cannabis laws: Prescriptions for opioid painkillers in these states dropped by 1,826 per doctor as patients found their alternatives.

Weed offers pain relief

Marijuana is recognizable as an option for pain relief. In fact, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration has approved pharmaceutical CBD and THC for the treatment of chronic pain associated with AIDS and chemotherapy, while offering an alternative for opioid addiction.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information shared insights from the book Marijuana as Medicine on how THC counters pain. It noted the following:

“Cannabinoids have shown significant promise in basic experiments on pain. Peripheral nerves that detect pain sensations contain abundant receptors for cannabinoids, and cannabinoids appear to block peripheral nerve pain in experimental animals. Even more encouraging, basic studies suggest that opiates and cannabinoids suppress pain through different mechanisms. If that is the case, marijuana-based medicines could perhaps be combined with opiates to boost their pain-relieving power while limiting their side effects.”

In short: The cannabinoids in marijuana not only assist in blocking nerve pain, but they offer a way to boost the power of other medicines, as well as limiting side effects of typical prescription drugs.

But will it work on your injury? Cannabis appears to work on chronic and acute pain that often accompany sports or back injuries. In 2017, the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine offered a large-scale report  on pain, which shared: “The committee found evidence to support that patients who were treated with cannabis or cannabinoids were more likely to experience a significant reduction in pain symptoms.”

As with any addition to your healthcare regimen, it’s always best to discuss options with your doctor.