{"id":609550,"date":"2019-10-28T09:50:34","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T09:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/?p=609550"},"modified":"2019-10-28T17:04:39","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T17:04:39","slug":"rugby-league-stars-could-avoid-the-risk-of-getting-hooked-on-painkillers-and-anti-depressants-by-taking-cannabis-oil-a-new-study-aims-to-prove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/rugby-league-stars-could-avoid-the-risk-of-getting-hooked-on-painkillers-and-anti-depressants-by-taking-cannabis-oil-a-new-study-aims-to-prove\/","title":{"rendered":"RUGBY Union stars could avoid the risk of getting hooked on painkillers and anti-depressants by taking cannabis oil, a new study aims to prove."},"content":{"rendered":"

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RUGBY League stars could avoid the risk of getting hooked on painkillers and anti-depressants by taking cannabis oil, a new study aims to prove.<\/h3>\n

www.cbdarmour.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

FACEBOOK<\/a> | TWITTER<\/a> | YOUTUBE<\/a> | INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this year Rugby Football League president Tony Adams warned that stars of the 13-man code are becoming \u201cincreasingly addicted to prescription painkillers\u201d.<\/p>\n

And with St Helens and Salford set to go head-to-head in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford this weekend, new research could offer hope to players in high-impact sports struggling with pain and injuries.<\/p>\n

Former Arsenal and England football star Adams, who set up his Sporting Chance clinic after a personal battle with addiction in the 1980s and 1990s, highlighted the problem in rugby league earlier this year.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThey’re making tackle after tackle after tackle and it hurts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they’re getting painkillers like Tramadol from the doctor, prescribed drugs, and then getting a load off the internet as well to go out there and do it again and again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden you get addicted and it becomes a vicious cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Bradford and Warrington forward Rob Parker has also spoken about his experience with Tramadol following a catalogue of injuries.<\/p>\n

Now new research in Canada is set to explore whether CBD \u2013 or cannabidiol, which is derived from the cannabis plant but lacks the psycho-active THC ingredient \u2013 could offer a viable alternative.<\/p>\n

Sanctioned by the National Hockey League (NHL), the year-long study will involve 100 former ice hockey players in Toronto.<\/p>\n

The aim is to explore whether cannabinoids could help discourage athletes from using opioids and other medications to tackle pain.<\/p>\n

Dr Mark Ware, chief medical officer of cannabis company Canopy Growth which is funding the study, said: “We hear plenty of anecdotes from athletes about how cannabinoids are helping them, but we don’t have any good robust data to prove that and we’re addressing this with a credible partner.”<\/p>\n

Players who participate will be examined over a 10-week period and undergo MRI brain scans and diffusion tensor image scans \u2013 which produce a three-dimensional map of the brain.<\/p>\n

They will also undergo blood tests and have their speech, writing patterns, memory and emotional state monitored.<\/p>\n

Of the 100 participants, 20 will be given a placebo pill while the other 80 will be given CBD pills. Researchers will explore if CBD eases anxiety, depression and pain.<\/p>\n

Neurosurgeon Dr Amin Kassam, who has consulted with the NHL Alumni Association and Canopy Growth, said: \u201cThis is a crystallising moment.<\/p>\n

“We have a big need, the right agenda and the right people.<\/p>\n

“The NHL alumni are willing to commit their privacy and their souls to help others in the community.”<\/p>\n

The use of opioids and prescription medication in sport is a hot topic.<\/p>\n

A study published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that a quarter of retired professional American Football players said they\u2019d used opioids within the previous month \u2013 and half has used them not as prescribed.<\/p>\n

CBD is one of 104 chemical compounds, known as cannabinoids, that can be found in the cannabis plant. It is a naturally occurring substance and legal in the UK.<\/p>\n

David Barcly, CEO of British brand CBD Armour, welcomed the study and is keen to hear the findings.<\/p>\n

He said: “You hear of former pro athletes who have misused addictive painkillers, anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf CBD can help ease this, that has got to be a good thing.”<\/p>\n

www.cbdarmour.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"  \"\"  \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUGBY League stars could avoid the risk of getting hooked on painkillers and anti-depressants by taking cannabis oil, a new study aims to prove. www.cbdarmour.co.uk FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM Earlier this year Rugby Football League president Tony Adams warned that stars of the 13-man code are becoming \u201cincreasingly addicted to prescription painkillers\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":609558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-609550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ulster-rugby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":610953,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609550\/revisions\/610953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}