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It’s common to feel sore after a workout. After all, you worked hard! When you exercise intensely, whether it’s a long run or an intense CrossFit session, micro-tears are created in your muscles. This happens especially when you’ve pushed your body a lot more than you normally would. This may be due to the length of time you have been training or the intensity of your routine.

When muscles suffer microscopic damage, white blood cells begin to repair them, essentially making them stronger. This is called inflammation, and it’s your immune system’s response to repairing your tissues.

Read on to learn what is called exercise-induced inflammation and how you can use CBD to achieve muscle recovery in support of your training routine.

Causes of inflammation

Exercise-induced inflammation occurs when you push your body through a hard workout. Typically, weight-bearing exercise, whether it’s running or lifting weights, will cause inflammation. However, low-impact exercise like walking can also cause inflammation because your body hasn’t gotten used to doing all that exercise.

The inflammation will activate the pain receptors whose function is to tell you to take a break. You can still do some low-impact exercise like walking or swimming, but you shouldn’t exercise repeatedly at a very strenuous level without adequate rest periods. This leads to continuous inflammation.

Why is inflammation important?

Inflammation is beneficial as it is the process your body must go through to repair and strengthen your muscles. However, chronic inflammation induced by ongoing exercise will lead to long-term health problems such as joint pain in the knees and elbows.

In order to recover from inflammation, your body needs to rest. A 2019 report by NBC News says that when muscles don’t have a chance to repair themselves, the risk of injury increases. Without proper muscle recovery and rest, you will not achieve your exercise goals.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep exercise-induced inflammation in a healthy way.

CBD: Does it help with inflammation?

Many studies show that CBD oil can reduce exercise-induced inflammation. Personal trainers and athletes often take CBD, or cannabidiol, to achieve muscle recovery.

A study appearing in “Future Medicinal Chemistry” revealed that cannabinoids can suppress the inflammatory response, shortening recovery time and alleviating exercise-induced tissue inflammation.

A 2018 review that appeared in “Frontiers in Neurology” showed that CBD can improve mobility while decreasing discomfort.

CBD: How does it reduce inflammation?

CBD interacts through the endocannabinoid system (ECS) with your body. The ECS, a receptor system, regulates processes to maintain a healthier balance in the body, such as sleep, cognition, and relaxation.

You may wonder what impact this has on your fitness level and post-workout recovery. Because the ECS supports your immune system, when you use CBD to alleviate exercise-induced inflammation, it helps moderate the production of inflammatory chemical messengers. It also helps maintain a healthy recovery so you can get back to the gym faster and start your workout routine again.

CBD may also support additional processes that reduce inflammatory responses. CBD supports the stress response and sleep systems, both of which have an effect on inflammation and recovery time.

How much CBD should you take for exercise-induced inflammation?

Everyone is different, so the best serving sizes for CBD will vary from person to person. You should start with the recommended serving size for each product, usually two gummies each day before or after exercise. You can then make the necessary adjustments.

For athletes and everyday sportsmen, occasional pain and inflammation are common. When you add CBD to your routine, you are supporting a healthier fitness pattern.