Have you ever felt like your back pain is killing you ‒ so much so that you’re unable to move?

While there can be plenty of reasons why you’re having this painful experience, one reason can be that you’re a victim of sciatica. It’s a common disorder related to back pain and a good deal of people experience it, without a clue what it is.

The good news is; for most of us, it’s just a temporary thing and goes away with time.

However, there are some people that experience sciatica on a daily basis. Unless they get it treated or speed up its recovery process, the condition never seems to fade away.

You might be one of those people. If you are, don’t worry though.

While this disorder might sound scary, sciatica is not a permanent disorder. It can be treated.

And there are plenty of ways to cure this problem for good.

If you’re here, chances are, you already know that there is no better way to than natural alternative medicines/supplements that promise to give you relief without any side effects.

CBD is one of those alternatives. But, the question is; does CBD really work against sciatica?

That is what we discuss in this very article. So, if you’re interested; read on:

What is Sciatica Anyway?

Sciatica is basically back pain multiplied by unbearable pain from your lower back to the bottom of your legs. It can be so severe that you may feel numbness, tingling and sometimes, inability to move your legs. The damage to sciatic nerve is what causes this disorder to take place.

Sciatic is the biggest nerve in your body that goes through your spine and spreads to your legs. It plays a vital role in controlling your legs’ motor ability. And since it is a pretty big nerve, it can be squashed pretty easily ‒ which is what causes sciatica to happen. The reasons can be:

• A herniated disc
• Direct injury to the nerve
• Surgery near the sciatic nerve
• Bone spurs, and spinal stenosis.

Although the nerve has the ability to heal itself quickly, there are times when its healing can take a  big toll on your body, which in turn, makes it hard for your sciatic nerve to heal itself properly.

This is when you need to take extra-good care of your lower back and make sure you’re treating it with the right care and supplements. We know you might be tempted to take painkillers to relieve yourself from the deadly pain that it causes, but it’s only a short-term solution.

You need to treat it for good, in order to never have this problem in the long-run. For that, we recommend CBD since it has shown quite effective results against sciatica and lower back pain.

And here is why:

How CBD Helps with Sciatica

The problem with treating sciatica (and why it’s so painful in the first place) is that it is a fusion of two types of pain: neuropathic and nociceptive pain.

Neuropathic pain is often related to nerve damage. In this case, the nerve, which gets damaged, is sciatic nerve. However, since this nerve is quite a big chunk of “meat”, it is also prone to physical damage, which is where the nociceptive pain comes into play.

Nociceptive pain is related to tissue, bone and mechanical damage.

In this case, it’s like hitting one bird with two stones, where stones represent two kinds of pain.

In simple words, sciatica is a disorder that causes a burst of mixed, intolerable pain.

To resolve this complex issue, most doctors will recommend you drugs that reduce the inflammation caused by the damage to sciatic nerves, and painkillers to take care of pain.

But, we all know how damaging it can be for us humans to take over the counter drugs for a long term. Studies have proven that long-term use of medicines and drugs can increase the risk of heart attack, ulcers, liver damage and more. This notion itself is quite scary.

This is why our readers, including you, will be glad to hear that there is a natural substance, which has little to no side effects and is a better alternative for pain relief ‒ both neuropathically and nociceptically. We call it CBD aka cannabidiol.

Here’s how and why it works wonderfully against sciatica:

Since CBD is anti-inflammatory in nature, it quickly provides a sense of relief and comfort once you consume it or apply it topically on the lower back. But that’s not the only thing CBD does.

Once you start taking it on a daily basis, CBD can actually help regulate our endocannabinoid system, which is known to transport data from our central nervous system throughout our body.

This means that this system plays a vital role in running our body’s natural processes. In other words, if CBD can actually help our endocannabinoid system, this will allow the sciatic nerves to heal super fast, which means ‒ you will be able to recover from sciatica pain very quickly.

But, we have to tell you that this is all but speculation derived from multiple researches and studies done on CBD and its effects on pain. We do not know if CBD works specifically against sciatica or not. This is because there are no clinical trials done on sciatica patients with CBD.

All we know is that people who have used CBD for sciatica while taking prescribed medication, recovered faster from this painful problem and received no dangerous side effects from it.

However, no matter how good CBD might seem to you, we still recommend you to visit a doctor before you self-medicate your disorder with it.

Sometimes, you will need a surgical procedure for sciatic pain because of the risk of nerve degeneration, which can cause movement disability. We don’t want to scare you but it is better to take precautions. A qualified doctor is indeed what you need to understand your current situation regarding sciatica. The doc is the only person who can suggest what is best for you.

With that said, if you’ve already in contact with your doctor then let’s continue on to some frequently asked questions on CBD. Here we go:

FAQs Answered in Detail

Will CBD reduce my opioid use?

If you’re already taking opioid based drugs like morphine for pain relief then there’s good news.

CBD can actually help you get rid of the addictive side effects that come packed with such drugs. And gradually, you will start to see that there is no need for you to take opioid because CBD alone can manage pain very effectively. While this is true, discuss everything with your doctor first before taking any decision on your own. It’s a good idea to consult with an expert.

How do I take CBD for sciatica pain?

While we do not have a specific answer to this question because of the varieties of products available on the market, here are a few options that we recommend for consuming CBD:

• CBD Tinctures (for fast relief, quick absorption)
• CBD Capsules (for convenience and precise dosing)
• Topical CBD Products (targeted relief on the affected area)

We recommend using CBD tincture and cream together. A drop or two of CBD tincture (directly under your tongue) will work wonderfully and provide you instant relief while applying CBD cream, lotion or ointment directly on the area, will control inflammation and promote healing.

What’s the best CBD dosage for sciatica?

There is no ‘one dose for all’ when it comes to consuming CBD.

Since it is a natural substance, it works differently for everybody. For some, it might take a high dose to work properly while for others, a small dose will be good enough to get desired results.

Everything depends on the severity of sciatica, your body size, how experienced you are with CBD as well as other medications that you might be taking for solving this painful problem.

The good rule of thumb is to follow the manufacturer’s recommended dose. It’s usually 25mg to 50mg per dose. Start from there, and with time, increase the dosage until you start getting the desired effect from CBD. However, do not exceed 250mg dose as it can get counteractive.

Remember, you should always consult with your doc to make sure that CBD will not counteract with any other medication that you might be taking. Otherwise, the whole thing can go haywire.

Final Verdict

CBD is known for its healing properties when it comes to treating disorders related to pain and inflammation. So, in our opinion, CBD might be the best treatment substance for sciatica.

But we might be wrong. In the end, all of it depends on your decision and what you’re going to do when it comes to self medicating with the consent of a qualified doctor. We recommend you try CBD out since it doesn’t have any significant side effects that are health hazardous.

So what are your thoughts on CBD for sciatica? Would you be willing to try it out on your own or would you want to wait until there is more scientific support to back up CBD's health claims?

If you have had success with using a CBD product we would love to hear about it in our comments section below. We also encourage you to share our article with any loved ones who may be suffering from sciatica.