By: Matt Parks
The surging popularity of a young cannabidiol (CBD) industry has inspired incredible success stories and with it, incredible misunderstanding among consumers. Whether you struggle from chronic pain, need some relief after a hard workout, or are looking for some stress relief, here are some answers to your CBD questions.
What’s the difference between hemp and marijuana?
Marijuana refers to the hemp plant that was cultivated by farmers in order to increase its medicinal effects from smoking, topical use, and consumption. This process has been performed by humans for thousands of years, but recently has been aided by greater knowledge of genetics, nutrition, indoor growing with artificial light, and an ever-growing list of advancements. Despite this, the general goal has remained the same for marijuana cultivation: enhance medicinal properties by increasing the quantity of cannabinoids (like tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and CBD) present in the plant.
Interim CEO Nicole Hemmenway was one of three keynote speakers at the closing session of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) national convention last weekend in Indianapolis, IN.
In her talk, “Massage for Chronic Pain: What our community wants you to know,” Hemmenway shared her personal journey with complex regional pain syndrome and why she’s dedicated herself to helping others with pain through the U.S. Pain Foundation. She gave attendees a glimpse into the programs and services U.S. Pain offers, and provided insight into the scope of the chronic pain health crisis in America.
U.S. Pain Foundation’s 2019 Pain Awareness Month campaign is sponsored by Thrive Tape, the makers of a far-infrared kinesiology tape. Kinesiology tape is elasticized tape that can help improve mobility and support joints, muscles, and tendons.
Thrive Tape is unique in that it includes a blend of minerals and ceramic powder, which are silkscreened onto the tape and reflect far infrared. (Far infrared is a form of light that cannot be seen, but is experienced by the body as radiant heat.)
By Deborah Ellis, ND, CTN
If you’re like me, and millions of others, you’ve probably suffered with chronic pain for a year or longer. Chronic pain affects 50 million Americans, 20 million of whom have high-impact chronic pain. It has been linked to increased risk of major mental conditions including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Science understands a body in chronic pain continually sends stress signals to the brain, leading to a heightened perception of not only the pain itself but also the perceived level of threat. It’s a vicious cycle that’s hard to break or control.
Some states are taking a proactive approach to curbing and managing substance abuse disorders, aiming to provide nonpharmacological care for underlying pain problems.
Rhode Island’s Gov.Gina Raimondo signed legislation that requires insurers to cover chiropractic treatment for pain for individuals with substance use disorders. Under the new law, patients who seek such care must have insurance and the therapy must be medically necessary for licensed chiropractors to receive reimbursement.
As part of its annual “KNOWvember” educational campaign, U.S. Pain hosted five informational webinars around the theme, “All Things Complementary,” focusing on complementary medicine options with a special emphasis on medical cannabis.
If you missed any of the webinars, the recordings can be found below.
- Don’t Let Pain Limit You: Take Charge with Sound Data and Social Support with Rachel Trobman, CEO and founder of the Ouchie app, can be found here.
- Pain Reduction through Grounding: An Exclusive Movie Showing by Laura Koniver, MD, holistic physician, and writer, can be found here.
- Acupressure for Stress Relief: The Seva Stress Release Program with Regina Rosenthal, PT, advanced practitioner of process acupressure, can be found here.
- How to Talk about Pain So your Doctor Will Listen with Diane Cleverly, PhD, founder of Concierge Conversations, can be found here.
- Intersectional Medicine: Cannabis as a Complementary Option with Brandie Cross, PhD, founder and core facilitator of The Pot Lab, can be found here.
“As an organization that understands there is no one-size-fits-all to treat chronic conditions, it made sense to focus on varied modalities this year that have shown to help manage pain,” says Shaina Smith, director of State Advocacy and Alliance Development and KNOWvember campaign founder. “This educational program continues to grow, and once again, we witnessed a significant amount of participation from volunteers, allied organizations, caregivers, and others who welcomed the learning of new therapies. We are extremely grateful for the webinar presenters who took part in the empowering campaign and those pain warriors and caregivers who supported the KNOWvember initiative.”
This year, U.S. Pain’s KNOWvember campaign will highlight complementary medicine options, ranging from massage to acupressure to medical cannabis. Each day, U.S. Pain will be posting a fact about complementary medicine to provide people with chronic diseases options to research when piecing together a pain management plan.
So far, two webinars are scheduled:
- “Acupressure for Stress Relief: The Seva Stress Release Program,” with Regina Rosenthal, PT, an advanced practitioner and instructor of process acupuncture, on Nov. 20 at 7 pm EST. Register here.
- “Don’t Let Pain Limit You: Take Charge with Sound Data and Social Support” with Rachel Trobman, CEO and founder of the pain management app, Ouchie, on Nov. 9 at 12 pm EST. Register here.
More details and registration links for these events will be posted on U.S. Pain’s social media accounts.