CBD for Sport

Cannabidiol (or CBD) exists in various forms: oils, candies, capsules, muscle balms , etc.

This may seem surprising, but professional and semi-professional athletes have been using CBD for sports for several years now. Cannabidiol has indeed gained popularity among athletes since the World Anti-Doping Agency removed it from the list of banned substances in 2018. The use of CBD-based products for sport is therefore authorized in regulated competitions. by this organization.

Athletes appreciate cannabidiol as a dietary supplement, most often in the form of oils. The demanding lifestyles of those who compete can cause swelling in the joints, muscle pain , stress and poor quality of sleep. CBD is therefore a very interesting option to support those who exercise regularly.

As an athlete, you know that participating in intense training can cause excess fatigue. overexertioncan occur when physical sessions follow one another and recovery time becomes insufficient. Your muscles, joints and bones exposed to physical stressors become sore, inflamed and tired.

Pain management is indeed one of the most sensitive problems that athletes must face. 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 products. Athletes use CBD to relieve them after their sports sessions, for example.

A growing number of athletes claim that CBD helps improve their well-being and performance in their sports. The reduction of pain, improvement of sleep and reduction of inflammation are well-known benefits in the sporting world. In an interview with the BBC , these benefits were mentioned by several rugby players such as Finn Russell.

Also worth mentioning is former cyclist Floyd Landis who switched from opioids to cannabidiol. There is also golfer Bubba Watson who promoted CBD despite warnings from the PGA Tour. Research has also found promising benefits of cannabidiol in treating anxiety and improving recovery.

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

As the World Anti-Doping Agency specifies, CBD is the only authorized cannabinoid. 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. We therefore do not have the right to use products containing the slightest trace of THC. 

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 render a doping test positive.

We must therefore favor “ broad spectrum ” or “isolate” products and only select quality products to avoid any risk in the composition. Any product indicating "full spectrum" must therefore be excluded from the athlete's list before a competition.

You don't need to take a lot of CBD to benefit from its benefits for sports. Many athletes have achieved great results by taking small but consistent microdoses. It all depends on your practice. The more demanding your workout routine, the more inflammation in your body may be...and the more CBD you may need. Generally, 20mg to 40mg is the ideal dose, but you may need a larger dose to get through the most intense workouts.

We advise 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.