For almost 2.5 million people, daily aching, stiff cramping muscles is just a regular way of life when living with Multiple Sclerosis. Another 15 million people with spinal chord injuries must cope daily with similar pains as those with MS, but also limited movement which takes away the sleep these patients need.
Traditional medications do help minimize some of the discomfort that these patients suffer from however, they rarely provide complete relief. Many times the traditional drugs cause the user to feel weak, lethargic, as well as other side effects that some patients find intolerable such constipation.
With an outlook such as this, many patients with both spinal chord injuries and MS have sought out medical marijuana because of the complete decrease in pain.
Patients of spinal chord injuries and MS also said they valued the drug because it relieved nausea or helped them sleep. A’82 study of people with spinal cord injuries, found that 21 of 43 of the case studies reported that marijuana lessened muscle spasticity (a condition in which muscles tense reflexively and resist stretching), while nearly every participant in a’97 survey of 112 regular marijuana users with multiple sclerosis replied that the drug lessened both pain and spasticity.
This case study is not intended to prove that all people who suffer from MS find marijuana useful, but those that use marijuana do.
Test to prove that marijuana helps in spasticity has been done on animals. The area of the brain that controls movement is thought to create spasms-including many cannabinoid receptors.
One such experiment showed that when rodents receive small doses of cannabinoids they become more active, yet when they receive higher doses they are less active
Many marijuana users also note that the drug affects movement, making their bodies sway and their hands unsteady.
Researchers are still unsure of the exact mechanics behind the cannabinoids effects. With all of the findings that show marijuana contains anecdotal evidence, it’s properties still go untested.
Very few reports are helpful because they are limited in the amount of people and in general hard to find.
Still, the lack of good universally effective medicine for muscle spasticity is a compelling reason to continue exploring cannonaded drugs in the clinic.
For three decades, Dr. Julian Reindhurst has studies the medicinal benefits of marijuana. He currently has a blog that gives the historical perspective of how nirvana seeds benefited other ancient civilizations. He also has a website site that looks at the medicinal benefits of the nirvana seeds.