August 31, 2026 Demetrios Kydonieus, Chiropractic Nutritionist
Chiropractors have used home muscle pain gels, essential oils and ointments for decades. Menthol or Winter Green oil is the base ingredient in BenGay the over the counter muscle pain prep used dating back to 1898! Originally they used natural menthol and methyl salicylate essential oil but switched to synthetic in the 1960s as it was cheaper and easy to synthesis. Now CBD creams are the “new thing” and they work for pain and spasm, or general soreness relief Along with the traditional stretching protocols, ice or heat application, work/home ergonomic adjustments CBD really helps. Topical CBDa is just better than menthol based pain ointments that have been around for hundreds of years. When considering CBD gummies, gels, ointments, creams one should understand that no THC is in a well-made CBD pain cream unless the label says it is. The total THC should be reduced to less than 0.003% which is pharmacologically not active to the person using it and this level is acceptable for professional sports and most law enforcement or government job users. But in the end it is of course up to the person using such products and their own discretion.
Naturally occurring CBDa (cannabidiolic acid found in raw cannabis and hemp) has demonstrated COX-2 inhibitory activity in preclinical research, the same inflammatory pathway targeted by NSAIDs, but without the associated gastrointestinal risk profile.1 Applied regularly between chiropractic visits, a topical CBDa preparation can help to maintain lower inflammation levels making your chiropractic adjustments work better since they don’t have to push through chronic inflammation that happened while you were in between visits. Now when you get an adjustment the nerve improvement that only Chiropractic can give works faster and “deeper” by allowing your body to improve faster on a more settled physiological state rather than starting over each time you get adjusted.
Patients managing chronic soreness from old injuries or bad posture(phone and tablet use), poor diet, recurring hotspots, or from heavy labor between visits are frequently the people that get “stuck” and never really get total pain relief. This is not because the adjustment was ineffective, but because the inflammatory and neuromuscular environment resets itself before the next chiropractic session. CBDa offers a cost effective way to improve over getting more adjustments. It seems to influence the TRPV1 receptors and serotonergic pathways involved in pain signaling, reducing these signals and their relative strength but it takes regular use not just when you are in pain.2
For competitive athletes, any supplement or pain cream must not cross into banned substance territory. Non-detectable levels of THC (less than 0.003%), based on third-party testing and manufacturing in an NSF Safe for Sport certified facility are baseline requirements. Make sure any product you choose will hold up to 3rd party testing labs like WADA/USADA, NCAA, or professional league standards. Similar levels may be applied by a company or government job as well. So read labels and get manufacturer’s certificates if you want to be safe in your sport or job.
Clear labeling and accessible Certificates of Analysis are what allow a practitioner to stand behind a take-home recommendation with the same confidence as an in-office modality.
References
- Takeda S, Misawa K, Yamamoto I, Watanabe K. Cannabidiolic acid as a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory component in cannabis. Drug Metabolism and Disposition. 2008;36(9):1917–1921.
- Rock EM, et al. Effect of cannabidiolic acid and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia and edema in a rodent model of inflammatory pain. Psychopharmacology. 2018;235(11):3259–3271.
- Excerpts from Dynamic Chiropractic: August 31, 2026.