CBD: Keep it simple

Q. What kinds of CBD should I be recommending for pain?

A. CBD is widely accepted as a treatment for both acute and chronic types of pain due to its clinically proven effects on inflammation, but as we all know, different types of pain require different types of treatment and CBD can help in most cases. If you're unclear on how to navigate all the products in the market, my advice is to keep it simple.

I have always and will always recommend a full spectrum or, at the very least, a broad spectrum CBD extract for any use due to the added benefits and increased effectiveness created by the entourage effect, but different delivery methods should be utilized for the best treatment.

The obvious choice for topical pain is, of course, topical creams and roll-ons. These provide immediate relief for acute pain, muscle strains, post work out recovery and cramping due to arthritis.

Capsules and oils are easy to build a routine around and can be beneficial for chronic pain sufferers, especially if that pain is neuropathic. A daily regimen is also beneficial for people who suffer from reoccurring migraines, cancer-related pain, fibromyalgia and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis.

Since arthritis tends to be more of a chronic issue, the best course of treatment would be to combine a daily capsule regiment with the addition of topicals for flare ups. The same can be said for fibromyalgia pain: a daily capsule combined with topicals, as needed.

The difficult element to this is dosing and it's going to be trial and error for most people, as it varies widely between people who suffer from different levels of pain and who may metabolize things differently. While topicals can simply be rubbed on as needed, oils and capsules will need to be started at a low dose and increased slowly until a comfort level is found.

Andrea Mangini is a freelance CBD marketing consultant. Reach her at andrea.mangini@gmail.com.