There are many holistic trends running around out there, right now. But there is one in particular that has the science behind it to show how promising it is: That would be cannabidiol (CBD). What can it do when it is combined with another product out there? For example, what about K-tape that has been made with CBD? Could it help out athletes? Well, let’s talk about it.
What even is CBD in the first place?
This article is full of vague letters with obvious meaning behind them, so let’s give them some definition, starting with CBD.
CBD is a member of a class of chemical compounds known as cannabinoids. The compounds are commonly found in cannabis plants, like hemp and marijuana. There are many known cannabinoids. In fact, there are over 113 different cannabinoids that researchers have identified, CBD being just one of them. There is another cannabinoid that often gets conflated with CBD, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
It is important to know that CBD and THC are different, despite the fact that they are both cannabinoids. One of the biggest differences between them is their effect on people. THC has a psychoactive effect, which means that it creates the inebriation more commonly referred to as a high. CBD is not psychoactive in any way and does not create a high.
CBD extract is usually derived from hemp rather than marijuana, even though it is found in both. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that marijuana has high levels of THC and varying levels of CBD. Hemp, on the other hand, has high levels of CBD and low levels of THC. This makes hemp more idea for extracting CBD.
The other reason is the hemp is federally legal in the United States (with restrictions in certain states), thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill. This bill regulates all things agricultural, including what farmers may grow and sell. It gets reviewed and passed every five years. That year, the bill included a provision that made hemp legal for farmers to grow and sell. Marijuana is still federally illegal, but a few states have legalized it on one level or another. However, the number of states that have legalized marijuana is still very small.
There is a chance that you may be a little confused because most competitive athletes are not allowed to use cannabis of any kind. So, why would we write an article encouraging athletes to use a cannabis product? Well, as it turns out, CBD is a bit of an exception. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has officially approved CBD for use by competitive athletes with many different sport franchises and associations following suit. The one stipulation is that the CBD may not contain any THC.
There have been many studies that have been done on CBD and its effects in recent years. However, there is really only one main potential effect that we will be focusing on for this article, CBD’s effect on joint health. However, as we will be discussing that later in this article, here is a quick list of some of the more popular areas of study on the cannabinoid: Helping promote a greater sense of calm, helping reduce epileptic seizures, and helping fight bacteria.
What about K-tape? What is that?
If you are an athlete, you probably already know what K-tape is, as it is fairly common in the athletic world. But just in case you are new to all of this, let’s give a quick definition.
K-tape has a few different names. The more generic name is elastic therapeutic tape, but the more common name is kinesiology (kinesio) tape. It is an elastic cotton bandage made with an adhesive. Its aim is to help deal with the pain that comes from athletic injuries. It was invented in the 1970s by Dr. Kenzo Kase. He was a chiropractor who was looking for a way to provide his patients with a form of physical support that would not inhibit their movements.
K-tape is popular with pretty much every kind of athlete. A lot of this is because it is versatile. It is used for a number of different of reasons. For example, some use it for its initial intended purpose, to help deal with injuries that still allows for movement. Others use it to help support weaker areas of their bodies (for example, supporting your ankle if you have Achilles tendonitis). Some use it as way to enhance their performance in their chosen sport. Some runners believe it can be used as a way of “’waking up’ the muscle.” These are just some of these more popular uses, as there are still more that some athletes swear by.
What might CBD and K-tape do for athletes?
So, now that you have better idea of what CBD and K-tape are, it is time to address the question, how could they help athletes?
Let’s start with CBD on its own. There are many different therapeutic uses for CBD that have be looked at by researchers. One that has been studied a lot is CBD’s potential ability to support joint health. For example, this study looked at collagen-induced arthritis in mice. Some of the mice were given CBD, while the rest were given nothing. Those mice that were given the cannabinoid saw a slowing of the spread of the arthritis and lessened damage created by the condition. This study suggests that CBD may be able to support joint health by reducing the damage done by arthritis.
All of this research has not only been focused on CBD. There have been several studies looking at K-tape as well, and they have shown some promising results. This study, for example, took people with healthy knees and had them do some weight-bearing tests. Then they placed K-tape on the knees of the test subjects. After having the test subjects rest for ten minutes, the researchers had the test subjects repeat the tests, but this time with the K-tape in place. The researchers concluded that the K-tape helped the test subjects preform better in the weight-bearing tests.
Another study wanted to look at a more specific aspect of K-tape; how and where the tape is placed. The researchers made three groups of test subjects, each with a different form of taping. They had all of the test subjects do the same kinds of physical tests and graded their joint space based on their movements. The researchers not only concluded that there was a particular way to tape that appeared to be the most useful, but they also found that K-tape was useful for just about every test subject.
These studies both on K-tape and on CBD suggest that both could provide aid to athletes who are struggling with their joint health. So, it follows that a CBD K-tape may be able to help provide that aid in one fell swoop without the need for several different products. As of right now, there have been no studies that have been done on the combination of CBD and K-tape, but as time goes on, it is likely that we are going to learn more about both and have a better idea of how they work together.
What other CBD products are there?
While K-tape may be a great option for some people, it is not the only CBD product out there. CBD extract is versatile and is easily made or mixed in with other products. As a result, you have many choices when it comes to finding the right one for you.
Topicals
K-tape could be argued that it is a topical because topicals are something that you use on your skin, as an external product only. But K-tape is not the only topical out there. Most CBD topicals include things like lotions, salves, and balms. These are more likely to have a focused, localized effect than they are to have an overall effect (unlike oral CBD products). This is because the CBD never enters the bloodstream with topicals. Instead the CBD enters through the pores and stays in the area it is applied to do its work.
Edibles
You may be able to guess what CBD edibles are. They are any food or drink that has been made with CBD extract. These are very popular as they are easy to take and taste great. However, nothing is perfect and CBD edibles do have their drawback. The edible needs to digest before the CBD can start working, making them the slowest to start working out of all of the CBD products. But this is balanced out by the fact that their effect tends to last longer than most products.
Capsules & tablets
Many people prefer their dietary supplements to be more pill-like. If that is you, then there is no need to worry because there are CBD capsules and tablets. CBD capsules are usually soft gels. That means that they have been made with liquid CBD extract. The benefit of soft gels over hard packed pills is that they tend to digest more quickly than the hard packed ones. This makes it so that they start working faster. CBD tablets are usually sublingual. This means that you place them under your tongue and allow them to dissolve. The benefit in this is that the skin under your tongue is thin and allows for the CBD to absorb into the system faster.
FDA approved medications
While we are still trying to understand all of the effects of CBD, there are some CBD based medications that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of the main ones is Epidiolex, a medication that is aimed at helping people with epilepsy keep their number of seizures down. Another is called Sativex and is made to help ease the pain-related spasticity caused by Multiple Sclerosis. Most of the other CBD based medications are aimed at helping ease the nausea that is a common side effect with many cancer treatments. These medications, while all legal, are only available through a prescription from a medical professional and should only be used as directed.
Oils & tinctures
These are one of the simpler and most common kinds of CBD products. They are CBD extract that has been mixed with a carrier oil, like coconut oil. They tend to be rather popular because they provide some flexibility in how you take them. One way is by mixing them in with food or drink. However, like with edibles, you do need to wait for the food or drink to digest before the CBD can start working. The other way is by placing a drop or two directly into your mouth, preferably under your tongue. This is like the sublingual tablets. The thin skin under your tongue lets the CBD absorb quickly.
These are just what is available in the world of CBD right now. Because hemp was only just legalized in recent years, it is likely that we are going to see a rise in different kinds of CBD products in common years. For now, they are little more basic, but already we are starting to see the development of new and interesting CBD products, like K-tape for example.
There are still things that we need to understand about both K-tape and CBD. But in the meantime, research suggests that both could be very beneficial for athletes, especially those who may be having issues with their joint health. So, a combination may be exactly what they are looking for to help with their performance.
Are you curious about what other benefits CBD may offer? Do you still have questions that this article has not answered? Are you ready to try out some CBD? If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, then you are on the right site. Here on the Panacea Life Sciences site we have articles covering just about every CBD-related topic you can think of. On our site you can also contact a member of our team, either through our Contact Us page or by emailing us at [email protected]. We also carry a wide range of high-quality CBD products for just about everyone and their dog (literally).
