CBD is all the rage these days. From the CBD gummy bears you might find at your local gas station to the highly regulated hemp industry that produces products for spas and therapists, there is a spectrum of good and bad CBD information, products, and expertise. Here are just a few things for you to ponder as you consider whether CBD is right for you.

Blissed Out and Pain-Free

For a small upcharge, Colorado massage therapist Matthew Behr says he incorporates CBD into a full-body massage or applies it to specific areas of pain and tension. “Objectively, I can feel the (client’s) tissues relax with much more ease as the topical soaks in, and I am able to really get more work done. People leave feeling completely blissed out and report being totally pain-free.”

Know What You’re Buying

“There is a lot of garbage out there in the CBD world,” says Allison Taylor, vice president of Spa and Wellness at Receptra Naturals, which produces CBD products. “So many products are white-labeled with hemp extract from questionable sources with little to no research and testing. You deserve to know exactly what you’re buying, why you’re buying it, and how to use it.”

The Laws Are Catching Up

Whether a state will allow massage therapists to use CBD is up to the interpretation of the massage regulatory board in that state, and the speed at which federal, state, and massage board regulations catch up to one another in the aftermath of the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which opened the door to legal hemp farming. For example, some states have specific policies and rules regarding the use of CBD, with some outright saying they cannot be used in the practice of massage therapy. Most others will not give guidance on the issue at all. Check with your massage therapist to see if CBD is something they are offering with their services.

Definitions

Cannabis—a flowering plant (Cannabis sativa L.) that has been used for fiber, food, and medicine for the last 12,000 years.
CBD (cannabidiol)—a naturally occurring compound found in the resinous flower of the cannabis plant. Generally assumed to be safe and nonaddictive, CBD is one of more than a hundred phytocannabinoids in cannabis. To be classified as CBD and sold legally, and across state lines, it must not have more than 0.3 percent THC within its formula.
Hemp—cannabis plants with 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Marijuana—cannabis plants with more than 0.3 percent THC.
Information provided in part by Project CBD: www.projectcbd.org/cbd-101/what-is-cbd

CBD Benefits

• Reducing pain and inflammation
• Reducing or eliminating seizures
• Treating anxiety
• Managing mental illness as an antipsychotic agent
• Reducing muscle spasms and spasms of the small intestines
• Protecting the nervous system—managing dementia and Parkinson’s disease
• Use with THC in autism and poststroke care
• Reducing the undesirable effects of THC, such as inebriation, sedation, and racing heart

Why I Use CBD for My Massage Clients

“A female client of mine, in her mid-50s and living with multiple sclerosis, responded favorably to the CBD topicals we used in her massage. For the previous five years, this was a client I would see weekly for symptom mitigation. When we started using the topicals, many of her symptoms declined significantly. She reported that the feeling of pea gravel in her legs, and her neuropathy, diminished greatly. A retired stone mason in his late 80s was another one of my “a-ha” clients. He testifies that my massages have always been helpful, but now he swears he won’t ever get a massage without CBD topicals again. Between the success of these clients, in particular, and my own personal alleviation of pain in my hands and wrists, the results of using cannabis-infused topicals kept me interested in learning more.”
Julie Crispin, massage therapist and CBD educator