Both postoperative pain and hernia pain may be lessened by marijuana and marijuana-based products. Furthermore, marijuana plants contain cannabinoids that may help prevent the development of scars following surgery. However, before you begin using marijuana for medical purposes, we always recommend that you speak with an online marijuana doctor. The doctor will explain how to use marijuana safely to treat your condition.
It’s critical to comprehend pain mechanisms and the ways in which cannabis interacts with the body in order to comprehend how it might aid in the relief of pain associated with hernias and facilitate efficient healing.
How Cannabis Alleviates Pain
Our bodies use pain to alert us when something is amiss, such as when we touch a hot pan or are sliced by a knife. Hernias and other medical conditions can be quite painful and interfere with day-to-day functioning. We may be able to manage this pain with the aid of cannabis and cannabis-based products.
Understanding How We Experience Pain
When unique nerve cells called “nociceptors,” or pain receptors, send a pain signal to our brain, we experience pain. These nerve cells are found all over the body and communicate with one another until the signals make it to the brain. Until the message reaches the brain and is translated into a painful sensation, we are not aware of pain.
And because of systems like the endocannabinoid system (ECS), our bodies have signals that can control and reduce our reactions to pain, just as they do signals that cause pain.
Your body naturally regulates cellular signaling through the ECS. Comprised of receptors (CB1 and CB2 receptors), enzymes, and substances known as endocannabinoids, it plays a role in almost every physiological process, including eating and digesting, hearing, mood, emotional regulation, and pain perception.
All phases of the pain pathway are regulated by endocannabinoids, which offer the potential to artificially control pain by supplementing with phytocannabinoids, which are plant-based cannabinoids like THC.
How the Endocannabinoid System Controls Pain
The main way that the endocannabinoid system regulates pain is by controlling the neurotransmitters that transmit the pain signal from one nerve cell to another.
The CB1 and CB2 receptors can be activated by phytocannabinoids found in plants, like Cannabis sativa, which causes our ECS to react similarly to how our natural endocannabinoids do.
Here, endocannabinoids are produced on-demand and block neurotransmitters that would otherwise trigger the area of the brain responsible for alerting the body to pain. Endocannabinoids’ inhibition of neurotransmitters reduces signal transmission and pain perception by “turning down” presynaptic firing.
Relieving Hernia Pain with Cannabis: Is It Effective?
When an organ pushes through a hole in the muscle or tissues that normally hold it in place, it is called a hernia. Although it can also happen in the groin and upper thigh, this usually happens in the abdomen. Usually dull, the pain feels like an uncomfortable pressure and gets worse when the abdomen is strained, as when you lift something heavy or bend or twist.
Not much research has been done on using cannabis to treat hernia pain. Nonetheless, there is ample proof that cannabis can alleviate pain in comparable circumstances, like pain following surgery.
Reviewers of several clinical studies on cannabis-based pain management for post-surgical pain concluded that cannabis was a useful pain reliever. Cannabis was used in these studies in a variety of dosages and forms.
In one of these trials, patients were given oral capsules containing nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid that functions similarly to THC. In a different study, participants were required to smoke or vape 20–30 grams of cannabis flower at a ratio of 1:4 THC to CBD every month. In a third study, patients received oral doses of dronabinol, a synthetic THC derivative.
According to these studies, cannabis can reduce pain no matter what kind of cannabinoid is used or how it is applied. However, depending on the kind of cannabinoid used, the effect is probably going to vary a little. The intensity of the effects will also depend on the dosage for each individual. The recent approval of THC and CBD-based treatments for neuropathic pain in Canada provides additional evidence in favor of cannabis-based pain relief.
Cannabis and cannabis-derived products might help you manage your hernia pain to some extent, but they won’t deal with the herniating organ, which is the source of the pain. Since surgery is the only way to repair a hernia, medical treatment is essential.
Potential Benefits and Risks of Cannabis Use
Every treatment has potential advantages and disadvantages, and they are not all made equal. Understanding these advantages and disadvantages and picking the best course of action for your circumstances are essential to choosing an appropriate therapy.
Potential Benefits
A swelling or bulge at the hernia site, pain that gets worse when the abdomen is stressed, and a persistent, dull ache when at rest are the main signs of a hernia. Patients awaiting hernia surgery may find some comfort in the possibility that cannabis-based therapies will alleviate this pain.
Because hernias hurt, people who have them may also have trouble sleeping. Cannabis is frequently used as a sleep aid and may help you fall asleep in addition to reducing pain.
Cannabis might have some topical advantages as well. Hernia surgery scars are frequent, and CBD-based ointments have shown promise in promoting scar healing, particularly in reducing inflammation. Since topical cannabinoids have not been demonstrated to interfere with the healing process, the use of cannabis-based ointments is thought to be safe for postoperative care.
Finally, when given access to cannabis-based alternatives, some patients can significantly reduce their use of opioids for pain management. Given that opioids are far more likely to cause addiction than cannabis, this is advantageous.
Potential Risks
Despite its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, using cannabis while suffering from a hernia carries some risks.
Some patients who smoke or vape cannabis may cough, which can worsen a hernia because it increases abdominal pressure. (Smoking and persistent cough are also risk factors for the initial development of a hernia.) Edibles and oils might be better options for using cannabis to treat pain.
Cannabis use over time can also alter how your body reacts to medications that alter pain, such as anesthetics used during surgery. Cannabis users have been found to need more anesthesia than non-users, so it is important to let your anesthesiologist know if you use the plant.
It was also discovered that some painkillers, such as morphine, had long-lasting anesthesia effects on cannabis users. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is another condition that smoking cannabis may make more likely. However, it is inappropriate to draw firm conclusions on this topic because of the limited and inconsistent data.
Summing Up
Cannabis may be able to ease the pain and discomfort associated with hernia. Evidence suggests that different cannabinoids taken in different ways may have the effect of relieving pain.
While you wait for surgical treatment, you might want to consider using medical cannabis to help manage your hernia-related pain issues. If you intend to use medical marijuana to treat hernia pain, it is advisable to consult a physician. If you live in Worcester, the doctor will give you a medical marijuana card in Worcester, which will allow you to legally purchase, possess, and consume marijuana from any state-licensed dispensary.
Also Read: Naltrexone 4.50mg Extremely Tired: What’s Behind the Fatigue?