Medical Conditions
How CBD Helps in Bone Fracture Healing
Jun
Study: How CBD Helps in Bone Fracture Healing
We’ve heard how how CBD oil helps in controlling Seizure Disorders, Anxiety, Depression, Inflammation and much more. However, a recent study has revealed that CBD could help you recover from a bone fracture much quicker.
A study in Tel Aviv University in Israel, led by Yankel Gabet a bone researcher in the Sackler Faculty of Medicine found that CBD helps heal bone fractures.
Breaking down the CBD Bone Fracture Study
To fully understand the role of CBD and bone fractures, the researchers tested the compound on rats. While rats do have a different biological construct, there are a number of factors that are quite similar to humans and have proven to be effective for doing pre-human trials.
As Gabet wrote in an email;
“All the current clinical treatments for osteoporosis [have] been successfully tested in rodents prior to clinical settings…While there is no certainty; these findings hold promise for the potential clinical applicability of using CBD for fracture healing in humans.”
The researchers discovered that CBD enhanced bone healing by strengthening the cartilage that forms in the bone healing process. The Fracture Callus, as it is commonly called is made up of collagen, mineralizes and hardens overtime to form the new mended bone.
What they found was that in rats the collagen tissue was stronger when treated with CBD compared to the non-treated rats. The collagen molecules were more tightly knitted. What this means is that the healed bone [treated with CBD] is a lot less likely to break in the future. In fact, they found that the bones were between 35% and 50% stronger than untreated bones.
Furthermore, they discovered that THC was found to increase the maximal force and stiffness of the bone, a bit higher than CBD.
Real World Applications for the CBD Bone Fracture Study
What this means for the rest of the medical world is that CBD could be utilized for a number of bone-related conditions such as Osteoporosis – a condition that causes the bone to be weak or brittle. Roughly 54 million Americans suffer from Osteoporosis in the U.S alone, the global number is much higher.
Within the United States, the condition is a direct cause for over 2 million fractures annually. Considering that there are currently no FDA approved medication to help with bone healing, CBD could become a highly beneficial additive to prevent future fractures in patients suffering from Osteoporosis.
A more interesting aspect of the studies conducted was the discovery of CBD’s involvement in increasing mRNA levels of lysyl hydroxylase gene [involved in the fracture cross-bridge formation]. This is one of the first recorded data pieces that provides insight on the genetic impact of cannabis in the body.
In other words, CBD stimulates bone-building cells to express the genes involved in producing the primary enzyme need in the bone healing process. This interaction is a revolutionary discovery and maps the effect of cannabis and the human genome.
Where these discoveries will lead us into the future only time can tell, however as of now, we have discovered a wide range of application for CBD and THC.
Why the THC Discovery is important?
While CBD is the primary focus of the article, it is important to note that THC promotes a stronger and firmer bone once healed. This is important because there is a general movement within the medical world where the heavy focus of CBD is more apparent.
The reason being that CBD is a non-psychoactive compound, meaning it doesn’t produce a state of euphoria. THC on the other hand is demonized because it “gets you high”. Thus, a large portion of the medical world shy away from studying THC since it’s easier to introduce CBD as a medication.
We need to understand that the cannabis plant, with more than 400 compounds within it, works in unison to promote better health. This is called the “Net Effect” or the “Entourage Effect”, where the compounds work in synergy to promote an overall increased health benefits.
Despite the fact that scientists are trying to identify the individual health benefits of each compound, it is important to understand that consuming the entire plant comes with many added benefits.
CBD Health Profile to Date
Thus far, we have found many different medical benefits to CBD alone. For starters, CBD helps in reducing seizure disorders and in some cases is the only medication that can assist with certain types of seizure disorders.
Furthermore, seeing that CBD is antipsychotic, it’s also being tested in the field of mood disorders such as in easing symptoms of schizophrenia, reducing anxiety disorders, stress disorders and so forth. Additionally, CBD has been found beneficial in helping reduce inflammation and chronic pain.
Another study found that people who want to quit tobacco smoking used CBD inhaler every time they had the urge to smoke, reducing the chance of a relapse by 40%. There is also a growing body of research in the effects of CBD with other addictions such as alcoholism, opioid abuse and so forth.
CBD is legal in most parts of the world and some of the biggest cannabis businesses exclusively deal with CBD products. As the world prepares to embrace cannabis medicines and the political climate changing in favor of cannabis legalization, we’re bound to find more of these studies throughout the world.
For now, we can safely say that CBD and THC has a positive effect in the healing of bone fractures, making it between 35% and 50% stronger. Additionally, understanding the genetic interaction of cannabis and the human body might pave the way for new research that could potentially change the medical world forever.
We’re on the brink of a new era of cannabis medicines that would provide the individual with alternative choices in terms of pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, seeing that anyone can grow cannabis at their homes, might help shift the world into a more medically self-sustainable environment.
References:
- Natalya M Kogan, Eitan Melamed, Elad Wasserman, Bitya Raphael, Aviva Breuer, Kathryn S Stok, Rachel Sondergaard, Ana VVillarreal Escudero, Saja Baraghithy, Malka Attar-Namdar, Silvina Friedlander-Barenboim, Neashan Mathavan, Hanna Isaksson, Raphael Mechoulam, Ralph Müller, Alon Bajayo, Yankel Gabet, Itai Bab. Cannabidiol, a Major Non-Psychotropic Cannabis Constituent Enhances Fracture Healing and Stimulates Lysyl Hydroxylase Activity in Osteoblasts. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2015; DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.2513
Moeugene Ahmed
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