Could CBD Help You With Muscle Soreness and Improved Performance After a Tough Workout?

A study conducted at the German Sports University in Cologne has concluded that the use of CBD might allow athletes to experience faster recovery after high-powered resistance exercise (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8469280/).

The randomized, double-blind study found that athletes saw a drop in the concentration of muscle damage indicators in the blood, after a single dose of CBD. Subjectively, as well, these athletes reported faster recovery, and better strength after intensive workout sessions. The conclusion was that while the improvement seen was minor, it did indicate that CBD could help those undertaking strenuous athletic regimens.

Muscle soreness is common among anyone indulging in intense workouts. The soreness is caused by the temporary muscle damage and inflammation brought on by exercise. Athletic performance tends to drop until muscle recovery takes place. Athletes, however, are unable to afford time for recovery. They need to make use of all the time they have available to boost muscle growth and performance. While dietary supplements are frequently used toward this end, CBD is beginning to gain popularity among top athletes, as well.

In studies, CBD is seen to help reduce muscle damage

When athletes perform intense exercise routines, some muscle damage occurs, causing muscle proteins like creatinine kinase and myoglobin to leak out of the muscles, and into the bloodstream. Researchers can assess the extent of muscle damage and recovery experienced by participants in these studies, then, by measuring the quantities in which these proteins appear in the blood. The more these proteins appear, the more muscle damage they know there is.

Participants who were given CBD, as opposed to a placebo, could be seen to undergo faster muscle recovery and healing. Since CBD can take up to four hours to reach the bloodstream after consumption, however, the study observed that it could be important to take CBD before training, to ensure that CBD is present in the blood to hasten healing exactly when it's needed.

In the study, the consumption of CBD was seen to do more than offer muscle healing. It also appeared to offer improved performance 72 hours after consumption. Athletes were able to lift heavier weights than they were able to before consuming CBD.

A handful of studies offer encouragement to the idea that CBD could help muscle recovery and improve performance for athletes, but more work needs to be done before CBD can actually be recommended for these purposes. Yet, for anyone who deals with sore muscles after exercise on a regular basis, it may be a reasonable idea to try CBD to see if it works for them.