Every Athlete Needs a CBD Roll-On, Here’s Why

Athletes train hard and put their bodies under a lot of effects in order to get every last bit of edge for competition. Much of that stress is for stimulating the body’s ability to grow and adapt, thus increasing performance. However, over time, that prolonged physical trauma culminates in wear and tear that leads to injuries and pain.

While there are pain management methods available out there, many of them involve opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) that have their own side effects and may even become addictive. 

Opioids have been known to be habit-forming and hard to kick, so much that it results in overdoses and deaths. Meanwhile, chronic use of NSAIDs, even those that are available over the counter, are known to cause liver and kidney damage over time. 

That’s why athletes all over the world are looking for alternatives to painkillers to deal with pain in muscles and joints. There are now plenty of methods for pain management that don’t involve pharmaceutical drugs, and one of them that holds great potential is CBD.

If you’re an athlete, whether you’re competing professionally or just do hard workouts on a regular basis, you may want to consider using a CBD roll-on to manage pain and inflammation in your muscles and joints.

Benefits of CBD for Athletes

Pain Relief

Various studies have shown the effectiveness of cannabis in reducing pain, including musculoskeletal pain and stiff joints from exercise. While most of these studies involved cannabis as a whole and not CBD alone or a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD, results are not yet conclusive of the effectiveness of CBD by itself for pain management.

Meanwhile, there were more than 42,000 opioid-related deaths in the US throughout 2016. Opioids are indeed highly effective for pain management, but they’re also problematic for long-term pain management due to the possibility of over-dependence and accidental death. This is where CBD comes in as a healthier alternative to opioid painkillers.

Anti-Inflammation

Whenever there’s pain mostly caused by inflammation, people tend to default towards over-the-counter NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen sodium for relief. After decades of this mode of treatment, it has come to attention that they may not be as safe as first thought.

For instance, endurance athletes like ultra-distance runners tend to be advised to avoid NSAIDs, especially during long training sessions and events. This is due to the increased risk of kidney damage, with NSAIDs becoming a growing cause for renal failure and need for dialysis.

But also because of this, you should not rely on NSAIDs to deal with pain from even short workouts. NSAIDs have been proven to increase risk of renal damage and cardiovascular illness. Meanwhile, much of CBD’s popularity is its role as a safer and more effective anti-inflammatory.

Helps with Digestion

Much of being an athlete is having a good diet and being able to get nutrients from the food they choose to eat. Food fuels the body and is the main resource for recovery, so it makes sense to make sure that food can be digested properly.

As an anti-inflammatory, it can also be used to suppress inflammation in the small and large intestines, which can cause gastrointestinal distress and indigestion. CBD has been seen to be effective in reducing symptoms of gastrointestinal illnesses like colitis. 

Improves Sleep Quality

Another crucial activity for an athlete’s recovery is sleep. It’s when the body and brain does most of their recovery, so it’s very important that an athlete gets enough restful sleep every night.

That’s definitely what CBD is good for. It’s purported as a safer alternative to pharmaceutical sedatives and other sleep medication as they don’t have as many harmful side effects, if there are any at all. CBD can help relieve stress and anxiety during one’s waking hours, making you relaxed enough to then be able to benefit from its sleep-inducing effects—a double whammy.

Using a CBD Roll-On

The great thing about the CBD roll-on is that it’s a more convenient method of topical application. Its main advantage over CBD balms is that you don’t have to get your fingers greasy when applying it on the affected area. All you have to do is twist the cover off, roll the CBD on the sore spot, then put it back on.

The roller spreads an appropriate amount of CBD onto the area, making it easy and economical. It’s also quick to do, so you can roll CBD on where it hurts right in the middle of a workout or afterwards. You can take the CBD roll-on with you in your bag, so you can use it anytime and anywhere.

Another great thing about topical CBD application is that whatever side effects are associated with the substance is not typically experienced when it’s just applied on the skin. If you have particularly sensitive skin, there are patch tests out there that can help you determine whether CBD may do anything negative to your skin.

Transdermal or topical CBD application is generally safe, even in higher doses. Do take note that it’s only good if you apply it on clean skin, so you may want to wash and clean the area before applying the CBD roll-on to it.

A good rule of thumb to remember for the right amount of CBD to apply, roll on a generous enough amount on the skin without it pooling and running off your skin. Get it glistening, but not dripping. You may then massage the area if you wish to let it seep in.

Conclusion

CBD products are revolutionizing how athletes recover from the physical and mental stress of training and competition. It has also marked a turning point in health and wellness, especially for athletes. Soon enough, there were professional athletes who endorsed the use of CBD for recovery and maintenance.

It has proven to be popular for pain management, so much that athletic commissions and governing bodies had to rewrite their regulations as more athletes started using them. There’s no way such a good thing can be kept away from those who truly need it, especially when it’s proven to not be what’s defined as a performance-enhancing substance.

While CBD is no longer considered a banned substance for athletes in and out of competition, there’s still the matter of regulation of the manufacturing and distribution of CBD products. In the case of athletes, it’s necessary to find CBD products that are surely pure with no additional THC in their composition.