CBD for Pain

There are two broad categories of pain, adaptive pain (acute pain) and maladaptive pain (chronic pain). Adaptive pain is typical with tissue trauma such as a bite wound or surgery. Maladaptive pain is a more difficult type of pain to manage, examples being osteoarthritis or nerve injury.

Utilizing phytocannabinoids, like CBD, to help decrease pain is an emerging field of study for both animals and humans. To date, there are multiple veterinary studies that have evaluated the efficacy of various formulas of CBD containing solutions to support the natural function of the endocannabinoid system to minimize pain specifically related to osteoarthritis in dogs. Acute pain studies in dogs were unsuccessful and no studies in cats. However, our clinical experience suggests supporting the ECS can be advantageous for managing acute pain.

While it may seem like an easy option to administer CBD or other phytocannabinoids to our pets to decrease pain, there is a lot more to it than that. Each animal will respond differently to various phytocannabinoid-containing products. We must also be mindful of potential drug interactions that may occur if your animal is already on other medications.