A study released just last year reveals that cannabis improves the way in which the body heals broken bones. Researchers from the American Society for Bone and Mineral research took to the laboratory to examine how cannabis can help heal broken bones.
Research Methods
A group of rats was divided into groups, and all of their femurs were surgically fractured. Each group received different treatment.
One group received THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. Another group received CBD or cannabidiol; while not psychoactive, CBD is another cannabinoid.
The third and final group received just a saline solution. The progress of their bones’ healing processes was then recorded.
Results
The researchers explain that fractures of the type made in rats heal through the formation of a callus that provides the first bridge over the fracture gap.
This callus acts as a scaffolding upon which the bone can begin to form. As the bone begins the grow over the gap, the callus becomes unnecessary and begins to shrink to make way for the incoming bone.
Four weeks after the fracture, the size of the callus was recorded in the three groups of mice. In those groups treated with THC or CBD, the callus was 26% smaller than the group treated with the saline solution.
In other words, the THC and CBD groups were healing faster than the saline group. Further. the CBD group had a roughly 50% stronger femur than the other groups at eight weeks after the fracture.
Implications
The researchers note that fractures of this type are extremely common, affecting people of all ages around the world. As such, the impact of the study are far-reaching and of potential benefit to virtually every person.
The study suggest that CBD, in particular is an extremely effective treatment for bone fractures, as evidenced by both their ability to begin healing the bone more quickly, and increasing its strength later in the healing process.
In healing the bone more quickly, CBD acts not only as a treatment for the break itself, but also for the stiffness, pain, and discomfort associated with breaks of this type.
Importantly, the study ends with authors stating that CBD is a safe compound in humans, and is very well tolerated; in short, there are virtually no risks in administering it as a treatment for fractures.
The Last Hit
Research into cannabis as a treatment for bone fractures is extremely new. The authors made it clear that trials ought to be conducted on humans to test the efficacy of cannabis, and specifically CBD, on helping to heal breaks. If clinical trials of this type prove to be as successful on people as it was on rats, then we may soon see CBD become a staple in treating bone fractures in the future.
