Healing of Fractures Aided by Cannabinoids, Study Reveals

Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine tested cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) for their ability to promote the healing of fractures compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (1). The researchers explained in the abstract the need for a pain relief option, other than NSAIDs or opioids, that does not interfere with the natural healing process, which includes initial inflammation (1,2). The study, titled “Cannabidiol and Cannabigerol, Nonpsychotropic Cannabinoids, as Analgesics that Effectively Manage Bone Fracture Pain and Promote Healing in Mice,” was published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research in November 2023 (1).

In the study, the researchers used mice models to test pain relief and healing of tibia fractures in early and late stages (1). In the early stage of the study, the administration of both CBD and CBG resulted in pain relief without reducing inflammation, but also was found to help with repairing the fractures in both the early and late stages of the study (1,2).

“Both treatments led to higher bone volume fraction and mineral density than with NSAID treatments, which leads to a functional and healthy newly formed bone,” said Reyad Elbarbary, PhD, one of the study authors and an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University (1,2). “We still have a lot to learn about the biological mechanisms behind what we observed.”

As stated in the introduction, while there have been a few studies on CBD for fracture healing, CBG has yet to be studied (1).

In the discussion section of the study, the researchers reiterated their proposal for using CBD and CBG instead of NSAIDs for pain management and healing (1). “Overall, the protective, proliferative, and pro-osteogenic effects that we identified for CBD and CBG during the different healing phases culminated in accelerated repair, promoted bone formation, and enhanced biomechanical strength of the healed bone,” they concluded (1). Areas of future research, Dr. Elbarbary explained, included establishing dosing of the cannabinoids and their efficacy (2).

References

1. Khajuria, D. K.; Karuppagounder, V.; Nowak, I.; Sepulveda, D. E.; Lewis, G. S.; Norbury, C. C.; Raup-Konsavage, W. M.; Vrana, K. E.; Kamal, F.; Elbarbary, R. A. Cannabidiol and Cannabigerol, nonpsychotropic cannabinoids, as analgesics that effectively manage bone fracture pain and promote healing in mice. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 2023, 38 (11), 1560–1576 DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.4902.
2. Sweger, Z. CBD and CBG may promote bone fracture healing, manage pain https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/cbd-and-cbg-may-promote-bone-fracture-healing-manage-pain/ (accessed Feb 20, 2024).