There are a multitude of health issues that we struggle to deal with on a daily basis, and one of those is migraines. In this blog, we look at whether CBD could be effective as a treatment for migraines.
What is a migraine?
A migraine is a moderate or severe headache that presents as a throbbing pain. It can also have other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and increased sensitivity to light and sound. It is a common health condition that more frequently affects women, with 1 in every 5 women experiencing migraines.
Some people experience migraine with an aura, where warning signs such as flashing lights occur before the migraine begins. Other people will not have this and will simply experience the severe headache without any warning. A less common type includes a migraine aura without a headache, where an aura or other migraine symptoms occur but the headache does not develop.
It is not known what causes migraines but some people find that certain things trigger them, such as stress, tiredness, menstruation and certain foods or drinks. Most people treat headaches with over-the-counter medications like paracetamol or ibuprofen, but some people may want to look into any natural alternatives to these.
What is the current thinking on CBD for migraines?
Research into CBD for migraines is still in its very early stages, but one 2018 paper found that cannabinoids ‘present a promising class of compounds for both acute and prophylactic treatment of migraine pain’. The paper concluded by suggesting that cannabinoid-based drugs could be looked at in the future for treating migraines.
More generally, however, many people believe that CBD can be used in the management of moderate or severe pain. A 2008 article, for example, looked at the use of cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain and found that it shows great promise as a treatment.
Moreover, migraines can be caused or triggered by stress, and some people do think that CBD can be helpful in reducing stress.
One 2017 study, for example, found that CBD appeared to decrease the cardiovascular response to stress. This is backed up by another article from 2012 which also found that CBD reduces the cardiovascular response to models of stress.
Not much research has been done specifically on CBD for migraines, but if CBD is effective in calming and reducing stress responses, this could have a positive knock-on effect by reducing the likelihood of migraines triggered by stress.
How to use CBD for migraines
The way you use CBD for migraines depends on what you think is causing your headaches.
One of the most common ways of taking CBD is to administer CBD oil orally. You can get bottles of CBD drops, such as our 5% or 10% oil, and you simply apply these underneath your tongue. This then enters your bloodstream and it is thought that it reacts with your body to provide feelings of balance and relief.
Alternatively, if you get a lot of neck pain or soreness that can trigger a migraine, you might find applying a CBD balm topically to the location of pain might help to reduce the pain and lessen the severity of any associated migraine symptoms.
We would recommend trying the CBD oil first, to see how that affects you, and perhaps supplementing this with the balm if you think it could help you!
We hope you have found this article on CBD for migraines useful. For more information on CBD and health and wellness, you can browse our blog.
