If you are reading this article, there is no doubt that you are aware of the mounting popularity and optimism around cannabidiol (CBD). There has been rampant development within the CBD industry and this the explosion in popularity has been reflected in the rapid diversification of available products.
Sport is no stranger to supplements and performance enhancers, of both the legal and illegal varieties! After WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) removed CBD from its prohibited list in 2019, research has gathered apace to see how various athletes can benefit from the versatile cannabinoid.
Football, however, has been lagging behind somewhat in this regard. While we have seen high profile cases of CBD sponsors in MMA, golf and rugby, football has thus far shunned any involvement.
Footballers are being pushed to their physical limits now more than ever. Elite players are regularly playing in excess of 60 matches a season and the same can even apply to non-league players when you throw a domestic cup run into the equation. The demands that this can place on the body is extreme and there are so many ways in which CBD can support players in this aspect.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, or CBD as it is more commonly known, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid derived from the cannabis plant. CBD is a close relation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with the substantial difference that it is a non-psychoactive compound. This means that it does not have the intoxicating effect traditionally associated with cannabis in popular culture. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “there is no evidence of public health related problems” associated with CBD usage.
There are over 100 cannabinoids found within the cannabis plant, of which CBD and THC are just 2. Since CBD was first successfully extracted from cannabis in 1940 by American chemist Roger Adams, research has been a slow process. In terms of the bigger picture, we actually know very little about how CBD interacts with the body, although this situation is gradually improving.
What are CBD Patches?
With the recent rise in interest relating to CBD research, we have seen an influx of diverse delivery methods reaching the market. While CBD oils are typically the entry level product for most first-time CBD users, CBD capsules and topical creams have grown in popularity in recent years. This has led to even more exciting products entering the market.
The most exciting of these have been the development of transdermal CBD patches.
CBD patches work just like any traditional transdermal patch, such as nicotine patches. Such technology has existed for years, with evidence of medicated plasters being applied to the skin as far back as Ancient China.
CBD patches work through the process of diffusion. The patch itself is packed with CBD, and occasionally other botanicals or terpenes. Due to the fact that there is no CBD in the area that the patch is placed upon, the CBD will try to disperse to the more sparsely populated area. This process is aided by microneedles located on the sticky side of the patch, which serve to promote diffusion. CBD is then steadily delivered into the bloodstream across a 24-hour period.
Now we have established what CBD is and how it can be used, it's time to explore how CBD patches can help football players specifically.
CBD promotes a healthy night of sleep
It has been well documented for a number of years that sleep is an indispensable element of any successful footballer's routine. Sleep is particularly pertinent when it comes to recovery.
There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, sleep promotes cardiovascular health by allowing your heart to rest and tissue to repair. It also serves to prevent illness as we produce cytokines, which strengthen the immune system, while we sleep. Many researchers also believe that growth hormones are released as we sleep, which stimulate muscle growth, repair and fat burning.
One of the most popular reasons for people using CBD is the promotion of a healthy night's sleep that it can provide. There have been a number of studies into CBD and sleep, with the most recent of these coming in 2019. This study carried out by Lee, Hughes et al (Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series) researched how CBD impacted sleep and anxiety amongst their 103 test subjects. Each of these participants were provided with a 25mg CBD capsule every day and their sleep and anxiety scores were measured on a daily basis. Despite the fact that 31 participants dropped out, 66.7% of the remaining subjects reported an improvement in their quality of sleep and anxiety.
CBD patches are an excellent choice of product when it comes to improving quality of sleep. This is due to the steady 24-hour delivery system. On the other hand, products such as CBD capsules or CBD oils must be taken multiple times a day in order to maintain their effects. This means that during the night, the effect of the CBD can easily wear off and leave you suffering from whatever ailment you are attempting to alleviate through its use.
CBD Helps to Combat Stress and Anxiety
Slowly but surely, football as a sport is opening its eyes and ears to mental health and how this can manifest within the game. It is refreshing to see that the vast majority of top-level professional football clubs employ sports psychologists today, but there is no doubt that professional athletes still live hugely stressful lives.
It is clear that football is by far the most talked about, heavily scrutinised sport in the world. Players will have their every move on the pitch, and sometimes even off it, thoroughly examined. To make things even harder, they then have to go and perform again days later at an elite level, in front of 50-60,000 fervent supporters.
The initial findings in relation to research that has been carried out around this particular subject have been incredibly positive.
For example, one notable study carried out in 2011 by Francisco, Uribe-Mariño and Crippa et al (Anti-aversive effects of cannabidiol on innate fear-induced behaviors evoked by an ethological model of panic attacks based on a prey vs the wild snake Epicrates cenchria crassus confrontation paradigm) placed mice in a cage with a boa constrictor (a fairly robust inducer of stress!). The mice who were provided with a low dose of CBD took more time to scan their environment and analytically decide on a strategic location to escape, rather than panicking. This indicates that CBD helps to decrease anxiety in response to stress. One does not need a great deal of imagination to see how such benefits could translate to football.
CBD Has Anti-inflammatory Properties
CBD is renowned for its powerful anti-inflammatory capabilities. There is no doubt that minor levels of inflammation can actually benefit football players, but anything more than this can easily obstruct performance and recovery.
The way in which CBD acts as an anti-inflammatory is particularly interesting. Typically, we associate CB2 receptors with the brain, but they are actually found throughout the body and are found in no greater concentration than within our immune tissue. CBD works by binding to these CB2 receptors in order to allow a reduction in the responses of the immune system to harsh physical activity. It does this by reducing cytokine (small proteins which are involved in cell messaging) production and moderating the body's response to being physically overexerted.
These properties were explored in a 2016 study conducted by Hammell, Zhang, Ma et al (Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis). The researchers applied topical CBD gel for 4 days in a row to rats with arthritis. The results were indeed promising as the researchers noted reduced inflammation and a reduction in overall pain in the affected joints of each rat. Furthermore, no side effects came to light. While there are a number of comparable animal studies that have been carried out – each finding similar outcomes – further human studies are required.
CBD patches may be more beneficial than other delivery methods when it comes to battling inflammation. This is because patches possess an increased bioavailability as they do not pass through the digestive system like any orally ingested CBD product would. Additionally, they can also be applied locally to the area of the body that is inflamed. This means that the CBD can get to work on that specific area even quicker, before travelling around the rest of the body via the bloodstream.
Conclusion
The CBD revolution is well underway in professional sport, as its proliferation in relation to sponsorship highlights. However, there is no doubt that football is lagging some way behind in terms of the adoption and reputation of CBD.
There is no doubt that CBD can aid the performance of footballer players at any level, but perhaps more so at the elite level. CBD patches undoubtedly represent the best choice of delivery method in this regard, as discussed throughout this article.
The lack of side effects and potential benefits mean that there is little reasoning behind a footballer not, at the very least, trying such products.
Further research, particularly on humans, is clearly required, but the initial signs are incredibly positive, and the anecdotal evidence is impossible to ignore.
One key point to note before you leave is that you should always seek independent third-party lab reports when purchasing any CBD product. Any legitimate CBD retailer will possess such documents and should be able to provide these upon request. This is not only to ensure the absence of harmful additives, such as heavy metals and pesticides, but also to confirm the absence of THC, which could result in a failed drugs test.
