Cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, is available in various forms: edibles, oils, gummies, capsules, vaping liquids, creams, muscle balms…

It may seem surprising, but professional and semi-professional athletes have been using CBD for several years now. Cannabidiol has indeed gained popularity among athletes since the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency ) removed it from the list of banned substances in 2018.

The use of cannabidiol products is therefore permitted in sports and competitions regulated by this organization.

Why do athletes prefer CBD oil?

Athletes appreciate cannabidiol as a dietary supplement, most often in the form of oils. The demanding lifestyles of those who practice competition can in fact cause swelling in the joints, muscle pain, stress and poor quality of sleep.

As an athlete, you know that participating in intense training can cause excessive fatigue. Overwork can occur when the physical sessions are linked and the recovery time becomes insufficient. Your muscles, joints and bones exposed to physical stressors become sore, inflamed and fatigued.

Pain management is indeed one of the most sensitive issues that professional athletes have to deal with. Prescription painkillers such as opioids can be addictive and harm your health.

To avoid these side effects, a new generation of athletes has started looking for more natural and equally effective products to relieve them.

A growing number of athletes claims that CBD oil has helped them to significantly improve their well-being and performance. The reduction of pain, the improvement of sleep and the alleviation of inflammation are well-known benefits in the sports world.

In a recentBBC interview, these benefits were mentioned by several renowned international rugby players such as Finn Russel, Jim Hamilton and Jerome Kaino.

Also include former cyclistFloyd Landis who ditched opioids for cannabidiol or golfer Bubba Watson who promoted CBD despite warnings from the PGA Tour.

Research has also found promising benefits of cannabidiol in the treatment ofanxiety and anxiety. improved recovery.

In addition to muscle pain, active people often suffer from joint inflammation caused by intensive exercise. studies demonstrate that cannabidiol can also relieve chronic and acute inflammation by affecting the activity of the body's endocannabinoid receptor, which dramatically promotes recovery.

CBD full spectrum, broad spectrum or isolate, which to choose?

As the World Anti-Doping Agency states, CBD is the only authorized cannabinoid. Therefore, in the context of a sports competition, it can only be used in isolated form. The risk for athletes does not lie in the consumption of CBD, whatever its form, but in the other ingredients used in the composition of these products.

Indeed, there are many products that allow consumers to benefit from the entourage effect enabled by the presence of other cannabinoids.

This is particularly the case for oils, but also for certain creams and many other derived products. However, their mere presence may be enough to make a doping control positive.

It is therefore necessary to favor products with "broad spectrum" (broad spectrum) or "isolate" and to select only quality to avoid any risk in the composition. Any product indicating "full spectrum" must therefore be excluded from the athlete's list before a competition.

How to dose CBD?

You don't have to take a lot of cannabidiol to get its benefits. Many athletes have had great results taking microdoses fweak but regular.

It all depends on your practice.

The more demanding your workout routine, the more inflammation your body may have...and the more CBD you may need.

In general, 20mg to 40mg is the ideal dose, but you may need a higher dose to get through the most intense workouts.

We recommend increasing your dose of CBD slowly and avoiding making too drastic a change all at once. This is due to the fact that the pharmacological effect of cannabidiol is biphasic - it begins to weaken slightly from a certain dose. Slowly increasing the amount and frequency of doses will help you stay within the dose range that is right for you.

You may also consider diversifying your use of CBD.

If 20mg of CBD oil per day isn't enough to reduce inflammation, try adding a topical CBD product, nighttime pain patch, and/or CBD spray.