Can CBD Help Muscle Recovery Post-Workout?
By: Plant
Tags: Cbd, Athletes, Muscle Building, Workout, Sports

There’s an ever-growing cacophony of voices singing the praises of CBD as an assistance for muscle recovery after a workout. But is there truth in it? Can CBD help with muscle recovery after an intense workout?

There are numerous famous athletes advocating for the use of CBD for this purpose. But famous athletes and sportspeople, what do they know? Do they know things?? Let’s find out! (10% discount for the first person to state the reference in the comments).

What’s the Evidence, that “CBD Helps Muscle Recovery”?

At this point, pretty much all the evidence to support the suggestion that CBD can help with post workout recovery is based on anecdotal evidence, and anecdotal evidence is not used as a supplement for scientific research, for understandable reasons.

However, the number of athletes claiming this benefits has got the attention of many, including Men’s Health, who weren’t content to make one article about the subject, so they’ve done (at least, at the time of writing).

It is certainly interesting that so many athletes are signing the praises of CBD as a post workout option, and one of the loudest voices comes from the face of someone who has made something of a name for themselves as of late for not being scared to speak their mind, and may be exactly the voice that the CBD industry needs.

Megan Rapinoe, CBD and Muscle Recovery

Megan Rapinoe, the superstar of the US football (or soccer if you must, but we won’t) team who made as many headlines off the pitch after her comments about Trump and more, as she did for her football prowess (which isn’t fair, because she’s an incredible footballer, and that should be the headline, but it’s contextually relevant so we have to mention it).

Not only is Rapinoe an advocate of CBD, she’s in the business, having twinned up with her twin sister (I know, right? We were proper excited when we found out there were two of them too, the industry needs one Rapinoe voice, it’ll do even better with two!).

Rachael Rapinoe, who is also a retired professional football (soccer, but you know, football, you use your foot, it’s football) player is a co-founder of Mendi, a CBD brand launched after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declassified CBD from a banned substance in 2018, aimed primarily at athletes, while sister Megan uses her fame to act as brand ambassador and a Mendi sponsored athlete.

But it’s far more than just sibling support that has seen Rapinoe get into the industry, she is a long-time user of and believer in CBD.

Megan speaks in an about CBD assisting her with recovery after workouts and football (it’s football, we’re not getting into this again) games as well as with relaxation and sleep regulations, while sister Rachael says CBD in the same article speaks of using CBD for pain management.

What Does Science Say?

Not a lot, at the moment, but some, is the honest answer. You may read articles that blow up the information we’re about to give you, but if you know us, you know we don’t play like that, we much prefer straight honesty.

There have been scientific studies that have shown the potential for CBD to have anti-inflammatory properties, but this is not a statement of fact. It basically means that CBD may have anti-inflammatory properties, but it also may not.

Combining these base-level scientific findings with anecdotal evidence, however, does produce an interesting story, and one that more than just us is interested in seeking out the answer to.

Scientific research continues, and if the evidence comes, you better know that we’ll be right at the front of the line to tell you all about it.

Until then, though, there’s a number of interesting interviews around online with athletes who claim CBD helps them with recovery, and if you want to try it, we’re always here without a wide array of products for you to try and find out for yourself.

Is CBD Good for Athletes?

An increasing number of athletes are singing the praises of CBD for everything from muscle recovery to alternative painkillers. The conversation around CBD in the athletic world is a familiar one to those who know about cannabidiol, with some espousing the potential benefits of the cannabinoid, and others being standing stoically by their doubt.

With athletics and sports, the conversation is a little more complex, as there are legal questions to consider as well.

The Legality of CBD in Sport

For a long time, cannabis of all forms was outright banned by regulators in all sports and other athletic competition. While this has changed, the trace amounts of THC present in CBD have got athletes in trouble in the past, as 11-time Ironman competition-winning Lauren Goss discovered after being banned for six months from competition prior to last year’s World Championships after using a CBD cream.

This is where, as is so often the case with laws and regulations surrounding CBD, things start to get a little murky. CBD is, technically, permitted in sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (or WADA to its friends) but other cannabinoids are not, and as Goss (who also lost sponsorship deals as a result of her ban) learnt, even trace amounts of THC as found in CBD products can be flagged by doping tests and have severe consequences.

The Advocates of CBD for Athletes

Cannabis itself is something that many former athletes such as retired NFL great Rob Gronkowski, retired NBA stars like John ‘Spider’ Salley and Matt Barnes advocate, as does current golfer Bubba Watson (although it’s probably fair to assume that getting high doesn’t give you much of a boost when it comes to playing golf, apart from maybe adding a certain level to your appreciation of your aesthetic environmental surroundings).

Even the late David Stern, during his time as commissioner of the NBA, said that medical marijuana should be allowed for players.

It is no surprise, therefore, to see these stars also advocating CBD, but as a non-psychoactive cannabinoid (one that doesn’t get you high) CBD is not banned from sports, and therefore there is more freedom for the prospective benefits to be considered.

Quick disclaimer, we are going to delve pretty much headfirst into the world of hearsay here, these are opinions that have been expressed, and while you are free to draw your own conclusions, we do need to state that anecdotal evidence is not considered to be fact in the same way scientific evidence may be.

One of the first people to speak out about CBD was retired NHL hockey player Riley Cote, a notorious tough guy for whom getting into punch ups with other players was a large part of his job description (hockey is crazy).

Repeated trauma to body and brain left Cote with chronic pain, but his use of CBD twice a day has, according to a Wired interview, be a “game-changer”.

Another athlete currently advocating for the use of cannabidiol is Megan Rapinoe, the outspoken USA football (fine, soccer) player who rose to public attention in 2019 after an amazing World Cup performance and her less than subtle interview style.

Rapinoe has teamed up with her twin sister on a CBD brand aimed at aiding athletes in recovery. In an interview, Megan says CBD helped her with sleep regulation, post-workout recovery, and more.

Is There Truth in It?

If you know us at all, you know we can’t give a straight answer to that question, because there simply isn’t one yet.

Research is happening, but it’s going to be a while before we know for sure whether the benefits claimed by some athletes are scientifically verified.

That being said, we’re also not coming out and saying that these athletes are lying, as far as we’re concerned, if they say it helps them, then it helps them, but the various reasons this could be true is why anecdotal evidence cannot be enough on its own.

Our best advice is read through this, and the linked interviews, and see how you feel. If it’s something you want to try, then we are here to help.

Do you use CBD for post-workout recovery? Does it help? What’s your opinion on pro-athletes and former pro-athletes advocating CBD use?