Best CBD Oil for Pain Relief & Inflammation

Do CBD oils really work for pain?

What strain of CBD is best for pain?

We’re going to cover this in the article below. You’ll learn how to spot a high-quality CBD oil and how current evidence shows CBD to work inside the body.

This is a big topic, so let’s get started with our list of top-rated CBD oils for pain.

How do you know CBD quality?

Here are my top 10 CBD oil brands for pain:

1. Is Royal CBD Oil Good?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	250 – 2500 mg
Available Flavors	Natural, Mint, Vanilla, Berry
Potency	8.3 – 83.3 mg/mL

Get 15% off all Royal CBD products.  Use code “CFAH” at checkout.

Are Royal CBD oils safe?

What is the best CBD oil for severe back pain?

After taking the Royal CBD’s 2500mg full-spectrum CBD oil for just over a week. I noticed an improvement in my back pain. There was a time when I had serious problems falling asleep because of the sharp pains in my back. They seemed to intensify whenever I laid down to fall asleep. It was a nightmare. I’d lay awake for hours changing positions to try and find a spot that didn’t leave me writhing in discomfort.

How long does it take for CBD oil to work for pain relief?

With this oil, my experience within 2 weeks went far beyond what I expected. Not only did it help ease the pain, but my quality of sleep improved. I mean, I didn’t sleep longer but I began to wake up rested and with a clear head.

How much CBD oil should I take for pain?

My favorite combination for this particular oil is the vanilla in the 1000 mg bottle. This is the largest potency option currently offered by Royal CBD and has the best value. I took the oil twice per day, once in the morning when I woke up, and again in the evening before bed. One bottle of the 1000 mg CBD oil lasted me about a month.

Pros	Cons
Sourced from US-grown organic hemp Extracted with supercritical CO2 Contains the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes Available in 4 different strengths Up to 2500mg of CBD per bottle Lab-tested for potency and purity Great natural flavors (no aftertaste and comes in multiple flavor options) Free shipping within the USA	Newer brand on the market that only sells online, no physical presence

2. Gold Bee CBD oil 

Pros	Cons
Premium Colorado-grown hemp CO2 extraction Contains full-spectrum CBD Delicious kiwi flavor Sweetened with organic honey Lab-tested for potency and purity	Only one flavored option available No high-strength oils (yet)

Is it OK to take the best Gold Bee CBD Oil every night?

I honestly believe Gold Bee makes the best organic CBD products out there. The brand combines premium Colorado-grown hemp with organic honey sourced from the Brazillian Rainforest. While Gold Bee offers a modest selection of oils — with up to 1200 mg of CBD per bottle — the formula is spot-on when it comes to the quality of ingredients.

I’m totally not going to complain about the potency, as my back pain and sleep quality got better than with some high-strength oils I’ve tried in the past. Considering the quality of these products, they actually come at a bargain price. If you want to try other formats from Gold Bee, you can choose between its high-strength capsules and CBD-infused honey.

3. CBDPure (Runner Up)

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	100 – 600 mg
Available Flavors	None
Potency	1.6 – 10 mg/mL

What is the best time of day to take CBDPure oil for pain?

How many drops of this CBD oil should I take?

The only real downside to this oil is the potency — which comes in denominations of 1.5, 5, and 10 mg/mL. This is suitable for more minor symptoms, but may not be enough for people with heavy CBD demands.

Pros	Cons
Sourced from Colorado-grown organic hemp Extracted with supercritical CO2 Tested for the cannabinoid content and purity in a third-party lab Rock-solid 90-day return policy	Narrow product range Low potency They don’t ship to every state (i.e. Louisiana, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansas)

What is the best hemp CBD oil to choose?

4. HempBombs Simply The Best

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	300 – 4000 mg
Available Flavors	Unflavored, Acai Berry, Orange Creamsicle, Peppermint, Watermelon
Potency	10 – 133.3 mg/mL

What I Like About HempBombs:

I used HempBombs CBD isolate-based hemp oil for quite some time. Before switching to full-spectrum CBD oil and in this is the best brand when it comes to CBD isolates. Their products contain 99% pure CBD and ZERO THC.

When should I take CBD oil morning or night?

Pros	Cons
Sourced from 100% certified organic hemp from European farms Extracted with supercritical CO2 Completely THC-free Tested in third-party laboratories for purity and potency Available in 5 separate strengths Up to 4000mg of CBD per bottle	Lacks the synergistic effects from other cannabinoids The highest potencies are overkill for most users Uses synthetic flavoring agents

5. What is the best hemp CBD oil to choose?

CBDistillery 

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	250 – 5000 mg
Available Flavors	None
Potency	8.3 – 166 mg/mL

What I Like About CBDistillery:

What does CBD do to you?

Pros	Cons
Available as full-spectrum CBD or pure CBD oil (THC-free) 5 strengths to choose from Carries up to 33.3 mg of CBD per mL (in the 1000 mg bottle) Excellent value CBD oil	The hemp isn’t certified organic No flavor options available The company website is clunky and hard to navigate

6. NuLeaf Naturals

Is NuLeaf Naturals legit for pain relief?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	240 – 4850 mg
Available Flavors	None
Potency	48.5 mg/mL

Is NuLeaf Naturals safe?

Is NuLeaf CBD good for pain?

You can choose between five different sizes:

• 5mL — 240mg of CBD
• 15mL — 725mg of CBD
• 30mL — 1450mg of CBD
• 50mL — 2425mg of CBD
• 100mL — 4850mg of CBD

Pros	Cons
Sourced from organic Colorado-grown hemp Extracted using supercritical CO2 Made from a full-spectrum hemp extract	More expensive than the other brands in this ranking Narrow product range

7. Charlotte’s Web

Is Charlotte’s Web CBD good for pain?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	200 – 1800 mg
Available Flavors	Mint Chocolate, Lemon Twist, Orange Blossom, Olive Oil
Potency	7 – 60 mg/mL

What are the pain relief benefits of Charlotte’s Web CBD oil?

How long does Charlotte’s Web pain relief last?

First off, they could change their extraction method because they use ethanol, which is less efficient than CO2 extraction. Secondly, and most importantly, the suspension in olive oil makes them taste a bit bitter — even in the flavored versions.

Pros:

• One of the most reputable brands on the market
• Full-spectrum CBD
• Delicious flavored versions
• Up to 1800 mg of CBD per bottle
• Available in two sizes: 30 mL and 100 mL
• Third-party tested for potency and purity

Cons:

• Non-organic hemp
• Ethanol extraction
• Suspension in olive oil (bitter taste)
• The company received a warning letter from the FDA in the past due to inappropriate health claims

8. cbdMD

Is cbdMD a good brand?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	300 – 7500 mg
Available Flavors	Natural, Berry, Orange, Mint
Potency	10 – 250 mg/mL

About cbdMD:

cbdMD is another popular manufacturer that offers a wide range of CBD extracts. From tinctures to gummies to capsules, bath bombs, topicals, sleep aids, and pet products.

Does CBD act as a pain killer?

What is the best CBD for pain and pain?

The company has high transparency standards; not only does cbdMD broadly describe their activity from farming to testing, but they also provide batch-specific certificates of analysis for their products, including the results for potency and common contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, and residual solvents.

Pros:

• US-grown, non-GMO hemp
• CO2 extraction
• THC-free
• Up to 7500 mg of CBD per bottle
• Batch-specific certificates of analysis

Cons:

• Limited entourage effect due to the lack of THC
• Most people don’t need such high doses of CBD in their routine

9. Medterra

Is Medterra CBD legit for pain relief?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	500 – 3000 mg
Available Flavors	Natural, Citrus, Mint Chocolate
Potency	16 – 100 mg/mL

Is Medterra a good brand?

Medterra is a small craft company from California. The brand offers premium CBD oils. In different spectra: full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD, and isolates. The potency of these products ranges between 500 mg and 3000 mg of CBD per bottle, which is a standard range. On top of the unflavored version, there are two flavored options: Citrus and Chocolate.

Is Medterra CBD organic pain relief?

Medterra prides itself on making the real full-spectrum CBD. Each bottle of its full-spectrum CBD oil comes with 2 mg of THC. These products are only legal in the states that have legalized higher amounts of THC. So, if you want to buy the company’s products in all 50 states. Your options are limited to broad-spectrum CBD and CBD isolate. These provide more CBD per bottle — upwards of 1000 mg.

The entire Medterra’s product range is tested in a third-party laboratory for their CBD content and safety.

Pros:

• Premium-grade CBD oils
• Up to 3000 mg of CBD per bottle
• Available as full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD, and isolates
• Lab-tested for potency and purity

Cons:

• The “real” full-spectrum CBD oil isn’t available in all states
• Some of the lab reports indicate higher CBD levels than stated on the bottle
• No discounts for returning customers

10. Joy Organics

Is Joy CBD good for pain reduction?

Technical Details

Total CBD Content	450 – 900 mg
Available Flavors	Tranquil Mint, Fresh Lime, Summer Lemon
Potency	15 – 30 mg/mL

Is Joy organics a good brand?

Are joy products good?

Pros:

• Non-GMO, US-grown hemp
• Supercritical CO2 extraction
• Broad-spectrum CBD
• THC-free
• Delicious flavors

Cons:

• A bit expensive
• No high-strength oils

CBD Oil for Pain Management: Does CBD really do anything for pain?

Can CBD help with severe pain?

Cannabinoids like CBD are fat-soluble — which means they dissolve when mixed with oil. By dissolving these compounds in an oil solution, the CBD becomes much easier to store and use. Instead of measuring out micrograms of CBD crystals or hemp resin. All you need to do is measure oil to get your dose of CBD. This can be done using a simple dropper that comes standard with most CBD oils.

How much CBD will relieve pain?

How Does CBD Work & How effective is CBD as a painkiller?

Cannabis has been used for managing pain and inflammation for thousands of years.

The earliest records of the medical use of the herb date back to ancient China when the emperor Shen-Nung placed it among other therapeutic substances in the Chinese pharmacopeia (1). The leaves were wrapped around an injury as a poultice to reduce pain and discomfort, and reverse swelling and bruising.

Despite being a known medicine for a long time, scientists have only recently begun to unlock the mechanisms cannabis uses to achieve its important pain-killing benefits.

Do endocannabinoids reduce pain?

Are endocannabinoids anti-inflammatory?

By interacting with the endocannabinoid system, CBD and other cannabinoids are able to modulate several key processes, such as:

• Appetite
• Immune function
• Memory
• Mood
• Stress
• Sensory perception (including pain)
• Inflammation
• Reproductive health
• Nerve function
• Sleep

How do cannabinoids modulate pain?

In the context of pain, these gateways can limit the amount of pain signal that continues across the border to the brain. If more pain signal is allowed to pass, the brain perceives more pain. If the pain is stopped at the border, the brain perceives less pain.

Conventional pain medications work by activating the opioid receptors acting as a key gateway for pain transmission to the brain.

How does CBD affect TRPV1?

CBD has a similar effect, but through a different receptor is known as the vanilloid receptors. These vanilloid receptors are tasked with regulating a specific form of pain caused by either heat or inflammation. CBD has been reported to modulate this vanilloid receptor — leading to a reduction in the pain signals sent to the brain from inflammatory causes such as arthritis, muscle damage, or infection, to name a few.

• CBD acts as an antioxidant, helping the body resist and recover from damage
• CBD relaxes muscle fibers, reducing pain caused by muscle spasms and tightness

More research is needed to fully understand how CBD and other active cannabinoids can block pain. Every year dozens of new research papers are published in an attempt to paint a clear picture of how CBD works, how to get the most benefit from the supplement, and what its limitations are.

How do I choose the right CBD?

CBD has become a lucrative business. Companies are selling a myriad of different CBD oils and other products in an attempt to cash in on the new health trend. This means there are a lot of excellent products coming to market, nut it also means there’s a lot of trash as well. It’s important as a CBD user that you understand what makes a CBD oil good, and what makes it bad so you can avoid wasting your money, or worse — using CBD oils that contain harmful or damaging ingredients.

Let’s cover the most important points to remember when shopping for CBD oil online or in-store.

1. What is the best kind of hemp?

The source of the hemp used to make the oil is vitally important when it comes to determining which CBD oils are the best. The main reason comes down to the botany of the hemp plant itself.

Hemp is a bio-accumulator — which means it has the tendency to absorb compounds from the soil and accumulate them in its leaves, stems, and roots. The deep taproots of the hemp plant stretch far beneath the soil, pulling out and storing all the heavy metals and other elements it can find in the soil.

This aspect is in part why hemp is so nutritious, but it also means that plants grown in contaminated soils often contain contaminants that can be harmful to your health. Some of the worst offenders are heavy metals — which can build up in the body over time and lead to severe long-term health effects.

You want to avoid consuming heavy metals at all costs.

Poorly grown hemp could contain heavy metals, as well as other contaminants like mycotoxins, or pesticide residues that will end up in the CBD oil after all the processing is complete.

For this reason, it’s important to purchase CBD oil from companies that account for this effect. Only buy from company’s that make an effort to source hemp from organic farms, and take measures to assess every batch of hemp that enters the facility to determine heavy metal, microbial contaminant, and pesticide contamination.

The best hemp sources tend to come from states like Oregon, Colorado, or Alabama, as well as neighboring countries like Canada or Scandinavian countries. These places are all known for having high standards for hemp cultivation, and clean soils.

2. Is CO2 extraction best for CBD?

Once the company has the hemp, they need to extract the CBD from it. You can do this many different ways using solvents like ethanol, methanol, hexane, ether, or butane. All of these solvents work to strip the active compounds from the hemp plant and can then be evaporated to leave behind a pure CBD-rich resin.

however, there’s a problem with these solvents.

Even in professional lab settings, it can be very difficult to remove all traces of these solvents from the final product. Most of these solvents are toxic to the human body, even in trace amounts.

Therefore, the best companies are using another method to strop the active ingredients from the starting hemp material. This method uses CO2 placed under high pressure. the high pressure and temperature control convert the CO2 into a phase that’s neither liquid nor gas. This special state is referred toa s being supercritical.

Supercritical CO2 acts just like any other solvent, but with one key benefit — as soon as the pressure is relieved, the gas evaporates completely, leaving behind no harmful chemical residues.

when shopping for CBD oil, it’s ideal to look for a company that uses supercritical CO2 to extract the CBD rather than the toxic solvents mentioned above. Supercritical CO2 is very expensive and highly technical — but usually produces a far superior product in the end.

If a company is using harsh solvents like butane or propane (or they don’t tell you anything about their extraction methods), it’s a sign that you should look for another brand.

3. How can you tell if CBD is third party tested?

Every company has the option to send their products to an independent lab or third-party testing.

These laboratory tests check for the entire cannabinoid profile of the extract and are able to detect over 200 common contaminants.

Before a CBD product becomes available for sale, it should pass the laboratory test for potency and purity. If any inconsistencies are shown between different batches of the same product, the company should rework it and send it for analysis once again.

High-quality CBD companies will continually send each batch of product to a lab with no affiliation to the company (called a third-party or independent lab) for testing. These results are then published publicly on the website for customers to view.

The best companies will take this even one step further — adding a database and batch numbers on every bottle of CBD oil so you can view the results for your specific bottle of oil. Third-party testing is now an industry-standard.

Always buy your CBD oil from companies that show third-party lab reports on their website. Only then will you know what’s inside the bottle before you even order a product. If the company is producing CBD oil that’s as high quality, as they say, there should be nothing to hide in these lab tests and they should be listed publicly on the company website. If you can’t find them on the site, you can ask customer service for these as well.

If these tests don’t exist, or you can’t track them down from the website or customer service — it’s best to avoid this company and move on to another that takes this important step seriously.

What is the research on CBD?

Understanding how CBD works is no simple task. This compound is incredibly complex — working through a number of unrelated receptors around the body, interacting with enzymes, cell membranes, and various other cell structures. This makes studying CBD very difficult.

Nevertheless, there have been thousands of research papers published on medical marijuana — seeking to understand the interaction between cannabinoids like CBD and the human body. A lot of this research specifically focused on the effects of CBD on various forms and causes of pain. Let’s explore some of the results this research has yielded in the context of pain management.

1. Does CBD oil help nerve pain in back?

The painkilling properties of cannabidiol have been most thoroughly studied in animal models, as well as a handful of human clinical trials.

One of the best studies we have available on the topic is a meta-analysis published in 2017. This analysis looked at 24 different clinical trials involving 1,334 patients over several years and demographics. These studies all used various forms of cannabis for treating chronic pain. The analysis reports that many of these studies showed a reduction in chronic pain scores by 50% or more (3) — suggesting the cannabis plant to be a potential treatment for chronic pain.

Which CBD is best for back nerve pain?

Another clinical trial looked at the effects of a combination of CBD to THC in the treatment of intractable cancer pain. This study found that twice as many people in the treatment group given CBD and THC had a 30% or more reduction in pain symptoms at the conclusion of the trial.

Even though more clinical trials on humans are needed to gauge how CBD affects specific forms of pain or other conditions, scientists believe the efficacy of CBD in treating chronic pain is related to its anti-inflammatory effects (3).

2. Is CBD good for arthritis?

CBD has had a lot of research as a potential alternative to prescription and non-prescription pain medications commonly used for alleviating arthritis pain.

Researchers have found a clear link between the endocannabinoid system and the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative joint disease associated with chronic pain and inflammation (4).

One of the key areas CBD is thought to support osteoarthritis specifically is through the effects on an enzyme known as 5-lipoxygenase — AKA 5-LOX. CBD has been shown to inhibit this enzyme (7), which converts fatty acids into pro-inflammatory compounds. These inflammatory messengers have been shown to be a key component in the underlying inflammation involved with osteoarthritis (8).

By reducing the underlying causes of arthritis pain, CBD is thought to reduce the overall burden of pain from the condition over the long-term.

3. Does CBD help with multiple sclerosis?

Due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, CBD is a potent neuroprotective — which is how experts believe CBD is able to relieve debilitating MS pain, —which affects roughly 50–70% of patients diagnosed with the condition.

A study conducted on animals at Cajan Institute tested the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD on mice the researchers wanted to find out if CBD can provide a reversed inflammatory response on those cells. After ten days, the researchers found a reduction in inflammatory markers with a rodent encephalitis model designed to imitate the impact MS has on the body (5).

More research is needed to see exactly how these effects are translated to humans. Currently, there are 23 clinical trials currently underway, or planned within the next 12 months seeking to explore the effects of CBD on MS.

4. Does CBD oil help sports injuries?

Cannabidiol can be applied in two different ways when it comes to pain and physical activities. For example, when you administer CBD orally in the form of oil as a post-workout, it helps alleviate the muscle inflammation that troubles athletes once they go beyond the edge again.

If, however, you’re suffering from an injury, it’s best to apply CBD topically. Its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties allow the cannabinoid to relieve pain and improve regeneration capacities.

What is the most common side effect of CBD?

The main reason why parents are so enthusiastic about CBD is that this cannabinoid is completely non-intoxicating, doesn’t cause addiction, and has only a few mild side effects when taken at excessive doses.

Research shows that even doses up to one and a half grams have no severe side effects on human health (9).

Despite being a notoriously safe supplement, there are some side effects of using CBD in high doses. Let’s cover the most common side effects people report from using CBD:

• Anxiety
• Brain fog
• Reduced appetite
• Mood changes
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Drowsiness or fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Nausea and vomiting

The most common side effect by far, like other forms of cannabis, is dry mouth. This is best managed by taking your CBD oil along with some juice like pineapple or orange juice.

Another common side effect is lowered blood pressure, which may trigger another unwanted reaction — lightheadedness. This side effect is important to consider if you suffer from low blood pressure already or are taking blood pressure-lowering medications.

Always consult your doctor before using CBD or other cannabis extracts if you’re taking prescription medications or have underlying medical conditions.

In Summary: What should I look for when buying CBD for pain?

As CBD becomes more popular around the world, scientists are publishing new research on cannabinoids on a near-weekly basis. As time goes on, experts are mapping out the complicated mechanisms CBD and other hemp derivatives are using to support both acute and chronic pain of all different origins.

Here are the main takeaways from the current research:

• CBD inhibits inflammation at several different levels
• CBD offers antioxidant support
• CBD may relieve muscle tension and inflammation
• CBD interacts with the vanilloid receptors in the brain responsible for regulating inflammatory pain transmission

When it comes to pain, CBD appears to target the cause of the problem instead of just masking its symptoms.

Getting relief on so many levels and without any harmful side effects or risk of addiction is the reason why CBD oil has become so popular over the past half a decade.

I hope this guide has managed to clear up any confusion regarding CBD oil and pain, and given you the insight necessary to find the right CBD oil for the job.

Have you tried CBD oil for chronic pain? Did you feel any difference? Let me know in the comments below!

References:

1. Brand, E. J., & Zhao, Z. (2017). Cannabis in Chinese Medicine: Are Some Traditional Indications Referenced in Ancient Literature Related to Cannabinoids?. Frontiers in pharmacology, 8, 108.
2. Alger B. E. (2013). Getting high on the endocannabinoid system. Cerebrum: the Dana forum on brain science, 2013, 14.
3. Aviram, J., Samuelly-Leichtag, G. (2017) Efficacy of Cannabis-Based Medicines for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Pain Physician, 20(6), E755-E796.
4. Bruni, N., Della Pepa, C., Oliaro-Bosso, S., Pessione, E., Gastaldi, D., & Dosio, F. (2018). Cannabinoid Delivery Systems for Pain and Inflammation Treatment. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23(10), 2478.
5. Elliott, D. M., Singh, N., Nagarkatti, M., & Nagarkatti, P. S. (2018). Cannabidiol Attenuates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Model of Multiple Sclerosis Through Induction of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells. Frontiers in immunology, 9, 1782.
6. Johnson, J. R., Burnell-Nugent, M., Lossignol, D., Ganae-Motan, E. D., Potts, R., & Fallon, M. T. (2010). Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of THC: CBD extract and THC extract in patients with intractable cancer-related pain. Journal of Pain and symptom management, 39(2), 167-179.
7. Takeda, S., Usami, N., Yamamoto, I., & Watanabe, K. (2009). Cannabidiol-2′, 6′-dimethyl ether, a cannabidiol derivative, is a highly potent and selective 15-lipoxygenase inhibitor. Drug Metabolism and Disposition.
8. Lascelles, B. D. X., King, S., Roe, S., Marcellin‐Little, D. J., & Jones, S. (2009). Expression and activity of COX‐1 and 2 and 5‐LOX in joint tissues from dogs with naturally occurring coxofemoral joint osteoarthritis. Journal of orthopedic research, 27(9), 1204-1208.Chicago