Pain and its Effects on the Human Body:
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. Pain is always a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological and social factors. Pain may be consistent, it may start and stop frequently, or it may occur only under some conditions. It may be acute, developing suddenly and lasting for a short period of time. Or it may be chronic, with ongoing sensations that last or return repeatedly over several months or years. Pain may be localized, affecting a specific part of the body. Or it may be generalized, such as the overall body aches associated with the flu. Pain can be multiple types, such as acute, chronic, neuropathic, nociceptive and radicular. Depending on the underlying diseases or health conditions in the body, pain often occurs with a wide range of other symptoms as well. Studies have identified that depression, anxiety, irritation, stress, swelling, loss of appetite, numbness, lack of concentration, weight loss, bleeding, headache and fever are some of the common symptoms that may occur along with the pain. In addition, pain is frequently linked with causing sleep disturbances. Researchers have demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship between pain and sleep. It indicates the fact that with an increase in pain, the amount of sleep reduces. Simply, the higher the pain lesser the sleep. It is well known that adequate hours of sleep are essential for the optimal function of the human brain. The brain is the vital organ that coordinates all the body functions and together with the spinal code, the brain forms the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, pain has a direct influence on the activities coordinated by the brain. Particularly, the pain reduces the optimum brain capacity.
In some cases, pain is clearly caused by a specific injury or medical condition. In other cases, the cause of the pain may be less obvious or unknown. Some common causes of pain can be headache, toothache, sore throat, stomach ache or cramps, muscle cramps or strains, cuts, burns, or bruises, and bone fractures. Many illnesses or disorders, such as the flu, arthritis, endometriosis, and fibromyalgia, can cause pain. Depending on the underlying cause, you may develop other symptoms as well. For example, these may include fatigue, swelling, nausea, vomiting, or mood changes.
Treatment for pain depends on the underlying issue or injury that’s causing it, if known. Acute pain will generally go away once the cause has been treated or resolved. Chronic pain can be more difficult to manage, especially if it’s functional pain that results from an unknown cause. Given the ongoing challenges of chronic pain management coupled with the consequences of the opioid epidemic, pain management practitioners and their patients are searching for effective and safer medicine to alleviate pain.
Involvement of CBD in pain management:
Cannabis (most commonly obtained from the Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa plants) has three major components: cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. Tetrahydrocannabional (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the two major components of the hundred different cannabinoids. Historically more attention has been paid to the psychoactive (euphoric “getting high”) component of the cannabis plant, THC; there have been fewer scientific studies on the medical use of CBD, a non-psychoactive component of the plant.
CBD is emerging as a promising pharmaceutical agent to treat pain, inflammation, seizures, and anxiety without the psychoactive effects of THC. CBD exerts its pain-relieving effects through its various interactions and modulation of the endocannabinoid, inflammatory, and nociceptive (pain-sensing) systems. The endocannabinoid system consists of cannabinoid receptors that interact with our own naturally occurring cannabinoids. This system is involved in regulating many functions in the body, including metabolism and appetite, mood and anxiety, and pain perception.
Our body’s endocannabinoid system is composed of three main components:
- Cannabinoid receptors, namely CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are predominantly found in the central nervous system (CNS, the nerves attached along the spinal cord and around the brain) and are largely responsible for the cognitive and emotional effects of marijuana, as well as our perception of pain. CB2 receptors are more common in our peripheral nervous system (PNS, the outer nerves beyond the spinal cord and brain such as those in your arms and legs, although these receptors may also be found in our CNS) and in your immune cells.
- Endogenous cannabinoids (the cannabinoids that your body produces)
- Enzymes that facilitate the breakdown and use of cannabinoids
Our natural endocannabinoids function on demand, meaning that when our body senses inflammation or needs to return to homeostasis (a state of stable balance) it will release endocannabinoids that bind to cannabinoid receptors.
CBD itself does not bind to receptors but is thought to work by inducing other components of the cannabinoid system.