Canadian Study Finds Cannabis Products Effective In Self-Management Of Myofascial Pelvic Pain
By Frank Schuler
Myofascial pelvic pain syndrome is a health condition involving pelvic pain that is often described by sufferers as ‘short, tight, tender pelvic floor muscles that can include palpable nodules or trigger points.’
While it’s unclear how many people around the globe suffer from the condition, it is estimated that 22% to 94% of cases of chronic pelvic pain involve myofascial pain. Chronic pelvic pain is one of the most common gynecologic conditions around the planet.
Treatments for myofascial pelvic pain vary from patient to patient, with many patients relying on their own regimens for treatment. Cannabis is a popular medicine for sufferers, and according to a recent study in Canada, there’s good reason to incorporate it into treatment strategies. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:
Vancouver, Canada: A significant percentage of women suffering from myofascial pelvic pain (MPP) acknowledge using cannabis and/or cannabis-products as a way to effectively mitigate their symptoms, according to data published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
Canadian investigators surveyed 135 female patients with MPP, 57 percent of whom acknowledged using cannabis. Among marijuana consumers, 79 percent said that they used cannabis products to treat their pelvic pain. Nearly eighty percent of those respondents said that they began using cannabis because conventional treatments were ineffective. Nearly half of consumers said that they used cannabis daily, and more than half did so via inhalation.
“On a scale of zero (totally ineffective) to 10 (totally effective), 69 percent of users rated the effectiveness of cannabis as 7 or higher at relieving pelvic pain,” authors reported. Among non-users, 64 percent said that they “would be willing” to try cannabis as an option to treat pelvic pain.
A survey’s findings are consistent with those of prior studies finding that an increasing percentage of patients with pelvic pain are accessing either cannabis or cannabis products, and that those patients who do so are consuming fewer opioids.
Full text of the study, “Cannabis use preferences in women with myofascial pelvic pain: A cross-sectional study,” appears in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
