• N&PD Moderators: Skorpio | thegreenhand

  • Neuroscience & Pharmacology Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Recent Journal Articles Chemistry Mega-Thread
    FREE Chemistry Databases! Self-Education Guide

is cannabis induced joint pain psychosomatic or inflammation related?

LucidSDreamr

LucidSDreamr

Bluelighter
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
7,322
Many online have documented that cannabis can cause pain in certain problematic joints of theirs. Is this possibly due to physical inflammation caused as a result of cannabis use or just a mental phenomena?
 
Some people get vasoconstriction/cold with cannabis and this can lead to increased pain. But cannabis will also affect the musculoskeletal system in terms of muscle tone, and this could lead to increased (or decreased) joint pain.

I think CB1 signaling tends to be anti-inflammatory. But if people get stressed with weed, I'd imagine that could cause some exacerbation of an autoimmune disease because of the link between stress and inflammation.
 
I don't think cannabis is an inflammatory, on the contrary it's supposed to be anti-inflammatory!
 
In most people THC alkaloids found in cannibis cause the body to relax, a lot. However for some like most medications it can do the complete opposite. It depends on your metabolic processing. For me? It makes me relax and gives me a rush of euphoria that causes relaxation.
 
i have felt moderately annoying pain in my knees from being extremely baked with a low tolerance.

i could not understand what would cause it.

interesting seeing this thread.
 
^being high can alter your walking gait and posture so that's one reason why weed could cause someone knee pain, maybe they feel weak and hyperextend their knees when standing
 
I don't doubt that some people have this reaction, but marijuana is sometimes prescribed as a pain killer. In fact, pain relief is one of the most common uses of medical marijuana. So, the idea of marijuana causing pain sounds like it would probably be quite an uncommon reaction. It could be an exaggerated sensation of what is basically normal bodily functions (e.g. similar to heart 'racing' feeling that can happen while high). However, it is possible that the joint pain could be due to a rare physical reaction to cannabis.
 
I asked because MJ increases my back pain and wrist pain (the "damaged" portions of my body). If you search on BL you will find many threads with others confirming this happening to them also.


Cotcah? what do you mean about muscle tone? In the long run it will change muscle tone? This is an acute phenomena, when i smoke the pain starts within ten minutes and lasts for hours and it can bring the pain up from a 3 to a 8 out of ten most times.


I'm also worried that this is bleeding off into my sober periods the next day for example and increasing my base level of pain even when not high, compared to what it would be if I didn't smoke weed at all.
 
For some people weed seems to increase muscle tone and make it harder to relax, inducing fasciulations/spasms in some. This isn't everybody of course, and is probably not the average acute effect (I believe cannabis sees some use in treating muscle spasms in MS).

But for me personally, I would have more muscle tension and I wasn't as able to use the minimum amount of effort necessary to do something like type or use the mouse. So if you're rage clicking with the mouse while playing a game stoned, I could see how that could affect wrist pain, without needing an indirect CB1 agonism -> inflammation explanation.

It could also alter posture acutely and lead to more spine pain therein, there may be some loss of posture awareness while high.

There are of course many different types of compression neuropathy and causes of pain, see for example thoracic outlet syndrome hand pain which can be exacerbated with the act of smoking/inhalation (rib cage is implicated in thoracic outlet syndrome) and anxiety, and being stoned could alter posture (spine/shoulder and breathing mechanics) and worsen it as well. Combine that with some vasoconstriction and you have many mechanisms by which weed could cause an increase in pain in some people
 
Weed makes my achellies tendons ache way worse and neurophathic pain flare up. I've pretty much decided it's a sign I should quit smoking until it gets better, or try edibles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top