More than 80% of patients would consider THC, CBD products for musculoskeletal pain
Key takeaways:
- Of 182 patients treated at an orthopedic sports medicine clinic, more than 80% were open to receiving THC and CBD products for pain.
- More than 60% of patients were familiar with the use of THC and CBD for pain.
Among patients seen at an orthopedic clinic, 81.3% were open to receiving THC-based products and 90.1% were open to receiving CBD-based products for the management of musculoskeletal pain, according to published results.
“These results suggest a growing demand for alternative pain management strategies in orthopedics, emphasizing the need for further high-quality research to establish the efficacy, safety and guidelines for incorporating cannabis-based therapies into clinical practice,” William J. Karakash, BS, of the Epstein Family Center for Sports Medicine at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, told Healio. “This shift could potentially reduce reliance on traditional pain medications and reshape pain management in orthopedic care.”
Karakash and colleagues distributed a voluntary 11-question survey to 182 patients (mean age, 47.3 years) who were seen at their clinic. The survey documented patient familiarity with THC and CBD products, as well patient amenability to receiving THC and CBD products to treat musculoskeletal pain.
They found 61% of respondents were familiar or somewhat familiar with THC products and 63.2% of respondents were familiar or somewhat familiar with CBD products regarding use of these products for musculoskeletal pain. In addition, 53.3% of respondents reported friends and family were using CBD products to manage musculoskeletal pain.
Overall, 81.3% of respondents were open to receiving THC products and 90.1% of respondents were open to receiving CBD products for musculoskeletal pain. Karakash and colleagues noted 85.3% of respondents said THC and CBD products may be an alternative to opioid use and 96.7% of respondents said insurance should cover THC or CBD products for medical use.
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