Fibromyalgia, a condition affecting millions, often leaves individuals struggling with chronic pain, fatigue, sleep problems, and cognitive difficulties. Current treatments, while helpful for some, can have side effects and may not fully address all symptoms. This has led to growing interest in medical cannabis.
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is characterised by widespread pain, tenderness, and fatigue. It can significantly impact quality of life, making everyday tasks challenging. This condition primarily affects women and is often accompanied by anxiety and mood disorders.
Current Treatment Landscape
In fibromyalgia, it is important to address both the physical and mental symptoms of the condition. Traditional treatments include physical therapy, medications like antidepressants, and pain relievers. However, these options may not work for everyone, and side effects can be a concern. This is where medical cannabis is gaining attention.
Medical cannabis can now be prescribed for a wide range of conditions, including fibromyalgia if licensed therapies have failed to provide sufficient benefit. These products can only be started by a specialist clinician with the support of a multidisciplinary team of other consultant colleagues and relevant healthcare professionals.
In a recent narrative review, researchers from Curaleaf Clinic (formerly Sapphire Medical Clinic) aimed to review the evidence on the potential of medical cannabis in managing the condition.
Medical Cannabis Research Findings
Research suggests that compounds found in cannabis, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), may interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in pain regulation, sleep, and mood. This is why there has been a particular interest in medical cannabis and fibromyalgia.
Pain
THC and CBD interact with receptors in the brain and the rest of the nervous system which are believed to be involved in pain. This includes the movement of pain signals along nerves up to the brain, but also how the brain interprets those signals. Work from
Imperial College London has also studied how terpenes from the cannabis plant may affect pain signals in preclinical trials.
Whilst this is promising, there is a need for further evidence in humans to determine whether medical cannabis is an effective treatment for fibromyalgia. There have been a small number of clinical trials which have aimed to assess this, but they are still inconclusive.
Recent data has been published from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry which details the reported outcomes of patients with fibromyalgia who have been prescribed medical cannabis.
Other Symptoms
Fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety and mood changes are common symptoms experienced by people with fibromyalgia.
Similar to the data on pain and fibromyalgia, there still needs to be more evidence to determine the exact effectiveness of medical cannabis. This is despite promising preclinical data. Curaleaf Clinic is dedicated to investing in research and development to help improve our understanding of the effects of medical cannabis in fibromyalgia and other conditions.
Conclusion
At present medical cannabis can be considered in individuals who have not responded to first-line treatments for fibromyalgia. There is a need for further clinical research to understand the effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis as a treatment for fibromyalgia, however. Currently, medical cannabis can only be prescribed through specialist clinics, such as Curaleaf, but with investment in research and development from the industry, government and other stakeholders we hope that this may make medical cannabis more available in the future for suitable patients.
