Pain



PAIN


Today, pain is the most common symptom for which patients report using medical cannabis. The key to effectively using cannabis for pain is finding the optimal dose. Since the body uses its endocannabinoid system to modulate overall pain levels and signaling, dose becomes crucial to remain in the “sweet spot” of sustained pain relief. It may be that some painful conditions, including fibromyalgia and migraine, may actually be linked to a deficiency of endocannabinoids.124 In such a situation, cannabis is used like a vitamin to supplement this deficiency and restore balance—a novel treatment approach.



Historical Uses


Hua Tho, a second-century Chinese physician, invented mafeisan, “hemp boiling powder,” which dissolved in wine. It was the first recorded general anesthesia employed during a surgical procedure. In the ninth century, the Persian physician Shapur ibn Sahl would pack the nose of migraine sufferers with juice from cannabis flowers to treat their severe headache pain. In the Middle East cannabis was used to treat a variety of forms of pain, including several neuropathic varieties. By the nineteenth century, physicians had discovered that cannabis could also be used to relieve neuropathic pain, which was otherwise difficult to treat. In 1887, Hobart Amory Hare, a professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, published a long article in the Therapeutic Gazette about the advantage of cannabis over opium for treating pain.128 Hare thought that cannabis held this advantage because it did not produce the sedation or nausea of opium. He also noted that cannabis was effective because it sometimes appeared to make pain gently fade into the distance. In the last decade, the THC/CBD oral spray Sativex has been approved in Canada for neuropathic pain associated with multiple sclerosis and intractable cancer pain.


Description


There are different types of common pain. Acute pain typically persists until the painful stimulus is removed or physical damage has healed. Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than three months, as found with conditions such as cancer or arthritis. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to nerve tissues, often in the extremities from conditions such as diabetes or as a side effect of drugs, including chemotherapy agents. Neuropathy often produces a “pins and needles” or burning sensation. Pruritus, a severe itching, has many similarities to pain and can be closely associated with neuropathic pain, although pain inhibits itching.


EFFECTIVENESS

Only gold members can continue reading. Log In or Register to continue

Related posts:

  1. Medical Cannabis Does and Doesn’t Work
  2. Herer
  3. Cough
  4. and Sleep Disorders

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Tags:
Jun 24, 2016 | Posted by in PHARMACY | Comments Off on Pain

Full access? Get Clinical Tree
Get Clinical Tree app for offline access