Have You Tried Cannabis Terpenes (not THC or CBD!) vs Pain?

We’ve previously covered such topics as Do CBD Gummies Work? and How Effective Is THC Against Chronic Pain?, as well as more general perspectives along the lines of Do “Natural” Painkillers Really Work?, but what of these newly-examined cannabis compounds that are neither CBD nor THC, but may well work against pain, including fibromyalgia pain that often quite little will touch?

Fibromyalgia is generally a good test of whether a pain relief method will work, independent of treating the cause—precisely because fibromyalgia is, when we look at it through a more critical lens, basically “pain that the doctors weren’t able to attribute to anything else”.

In this way, yes, that does also mean that fibromyalgia is less of a useful diagnosis and more of a rubber stamp, much like the role historically often fulfilled by “heart failure” as an official cause of death (because certainly, that heart sure did stop beating). It’s a way of answering the question without answering the question.

It’s what doctors write down when they’ve ruled out possible causes they’re aware of, and don’t want to admit they don’t know why your body is doing what it is.

It’s saying “I diagnose you with tired hurty syndrome, good luck, that’ll be [astonishing sum of dollars for the privilege of receiving this nothingburger answer] thank you”.

To be clear, while we are disparaging fibromyalgia as a useful diagnosis, we’re not dismissing the actual effect it has on people.

So while fibromyalgia has some potential use as a placeholder descriptor, it’s not an actionable answer, and it means that if that’s the diagnosis you’re handed, it can be beneficial to keep looking for the cause (because fibromyalgia is a result, not a cause).

For more on that, see: Why Fibromyalgia Is Not An Acceptable Diagnosis (and what to look for instead)

With that in mind, let’s get on to…

Terpenes, pain, & you

Researchers (Dr. Alyssa Welborn et al.) found that four cannabis-derived terpenes* reduced post-surgical pain and fibromyalgia pain without relying on THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, or for that matter, CBD.

*Namely:

• geraniol
• linalool
• β-caryophyllene
• α-humulene

How they appear to work: the pain-relieving effects were blocked by istradefylline, a drug that blocks the adenosine A2A receptor, indicating that activation of this receptor is likely the mechanism of action for the terpenes’ effects.

You may be wondering: what actually are terpenes? Terpenes are aromatic compounds found in cannabis and many other plants, that contribute to their smell and flavor, and no, they don’t produce the “high” associated with THC.

So, this is all sounding pretty good so far.

Any downsides?

In a mouse model experiment, the terpenes didn’t reduce responses in a hot-plate test that measures acute pain, supporting the researchers’ earlier conclusion that terpenes appear more effective for chronic or pathological pain than for immediate injury-related pain.

However, even that isn’t entirely a downside. After all, we’ve evolved acute pain responses for a reason, and that reason is to keep us safe. Where our evolutionary responses go screwy is when it comes to chronic pain, in which case it’s often a matter of our pain pathways misfiring and/or getting caught in an unhelpful feedback loop.

You can read the latest paper in full, here: Select terpenes from Cannabis sativa are antinociceptive in mouse models of post-operative pain and fibromyalgia via adenosine A2a receptors

Want to learn more?

We’ve written quite a bit about pain management, including:

• Before You Reach For That Tylenol…
• How To Stop Pain Spreading
• How To Dial Down Your Pain
• Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically!)
• Get The Right Help For Your Pain
• The 7 Approaches To Pain Management
• Science-Based Alternative Pain Relief (When Painkillers Aren’t Helping, These Things Might)

Take care!