Strain for pinched nerve / muscle spasm relief?

[thesloppy]

Hey y'all,

I've got a pinched nerve in my upper back, and resultant muscle spasms throughout my shoulders and upper back for years now. Although I'd love to say MJ has been helpful medically, and I certainly appreciate it's indirect effects on my discomfort, I have yet to discover a strain that actually has any direct effect on my particular pain or muscle relaxation, and it's certainly not for a lack of trying. Anybody have those particular problems and come across a miracle strain that stood out where all others failed? In general, most "xxxx is a good medical strain!" advice has left me flat, so I'd especially appreciate the experiences of anybody with similar symptoms and previous failure rates.

Tanx in advance!

 

[PondeLftHndSide]

Try a topical rub. You can make a strong tincture with isopropyl and have someone rub it into the affected area. There are lots of great topicals available at dispensaries if you're in a medical state.

Also, if you don't mind being overmedicated, a good strong dose of edibles will help loosen up spazzing muscles.

Are you seeing a massage therapist or chiropractor? Get loaded to the gills on some edibles and have someone drive you to/from your appointment. I started doing this before seeing my chiropractor, and he comments on how I'm "much easier to adjust these days". And getting super-loaded before a massage turns my back into putty, making for easier working, I'm told.

For smoking/vaping for muscle relaxation purposes, I'd recommend some kind of knockout pure Indica that has a strong body component to its effect. Legit Trainwreck is a good choice for pain - makes your mind wander.

Good luck to you.

 

[thesloppy]

Thx for the advice PLHS!

I'm one of those weird people that has never been able to effectively use edibles. I have no idea whether it's related to a fast/slow metabolism, or whatever, but I can just never seem to get an effect out of edibles, even when tripling or quadrupling the recommended dosage, though admittedly I've never tried a SUPER dose of something like 10-20x.

On the non-mj side, I do frequent a chiro, with limited results, but have recently been considering going to an isolation/flotation tank for a couple hours. Seems like the floating and the epsom salts could have some effect, aside from just being an interesting thing to try out. Anybody ever give that a try?

 

[F. Dupp]

Like Ponde said go for an Indica. Legends Ultimate Indica works for me. I have that restless leg syndrome bullshit going on and it drives me nuts when Im trying to get to sleep. A little LUI stops the twitching in my legs which I think are muscle spasms, so it just might work for your back/shoulders as well.

 

[rick shaw]

Indica's are what many drift toward.If what you want is stronger,go to concentrates.
Bubble hash helps me a lot with pain issues.

 

[teemu shalanie]

I got RLS also and use Indicas to treat pain, but edibles are thr only thing that give me relief , smoking dont really do it....
TS

 

[Eatatjoes]

I've found that multiple strains are needed for muscle spasms. I take some sativa to help stop the spasms themselves, which makes the soreness and pain a little more apparent. Then I take some indica to relieve the pain and tension caused from the spasms. Some hybrids will help with spasms but using the two separately is the most effective for me.

 

[thesloppy]

Hmmmm. Thx for the responses all! I've got plenty of knockout indicas in my cabinet that don't particularly do the job, and likewise concentrates are certainly effective for making me drowsy and (more than) content, but don't really do much for my symptoms directly.

Maybe I'll try making a small batch of a tincture, and/or put a more serious effort into making my own extra-strength edibles.

 

[Eatatjoes]

Muscle spasms are a neurological condition, you've got to treat the mind then the body. First take care of head...."sublime"

 

[thesloppy]

Muscle spasms are a neurological condition, you've got to treat the mind then the body. First take care of head...."sublime"

Inn'eresting, Eaj. I've got a couple nice hazes also hanging around, but I have to admit I rarely mix 'em with the indicas....I'll give that a try next time I can.

 

[kmk420kali]

Cannabis helps with dull, throbbing pain, such as some spasms--
It INTENSIFIES sharp, stabbing pain, such as most pinched nerves--
So when you use it for your pinched nerve, you are actually making the resulting muscle spasms worse--
As was said, try a Chiropractor...I say that from my personal experience, as I have had great results from Chiropractors--
If you prefer, you can see a Dr, but your pinched nerve cannot be fixed nor relieved by Cannabis--

 

[thesloppy]

Thx kmk. For whatever it's worth, I really don't suffer from any sharp pains from the pinched nerve itself...just the discomfort from the resulting spasms. As far as I can tell the MJ doesn't aggravate the pinch, but yeah I'm aware it's not going to be a miracle solution either, and obviously I'm not going to be able to smoke my back into alignment (although I sure can try!).

Further boring details: My ma is a chiropractor and my uncle is an orthopedic surgeon. One's only been able to give me middling results, and I'm trying to avoid the other for as long as I possibly can.

 

[PondeLftHndSide]

Another thing that has helped my spinal health immensely - an inversion table. I'll usually take a few teaspoons of tincture in a small shot of bourbon about 10 minutes before I ride the table, and it really helps the muscles relax enough to let my spine get a good stretch. Glutes, hamstrings, quads, abs, they all just melt, and things just pop right back into place.

 

[Eatatjoes]

Could you say that being inverted gives you a new way of looking at things? I had gravity boots for awhile, tough to get back down once your up there.

 

[teemu shalanie]

Acupunture ?
TS

 

[rives]

I've got both cervical and lumbar disc herniations, and the resultant spasms make life miserable at times. I have started making an olive oil/cannabis solution that is unbelievably effective for spasms and inflammation, and is working well for numerous friends with arthritis. The most effective prescription muscle relaxant that I have found is methocarbamol (Robaxin). It works reasonably well without the total lobotomy that most muscle relaxants seem to have.

 

[Prof. Howard]

I've got both cervical and lumbar disc herniations, and the resultant spasms make life miserable at times. I have started making an olive oil/cannabis solution that is unbelievably effective for spasms and inflammation, and is working well for numerous friends with arthritis. The most effective prescription muscle relaxant that I have found is methocarbamol (Robaxin). It works reasonably well without the total lobotomy that most muscle relaxants seem to have.

I also have 4 Herniated Disc's, Lumbar, with the surprising Painful spasms down my leg, in the middle of the night, and other than
Potent Indica Hash, Hydromorphone-{ Dilaudid } works within
20 minutes and allows me to return to sleep, after the Spasm
has wore off. I studied Aromatherapy, and formulated for a Student a blend of Blue Chamomile & Cypress Oil, in Almond oil
and his Pain & Spasms subsided. I found it's like Combat medicine
and you discover what works in the Moment!

 

[Prof. Howard]

Regarding Edibles, I have found that the -Bhang Cannabis Chocolates, Double Strength,
120 mg.THC & 5mg. CBD & 5mg.,Work exceedingly well. They come in 4 servings,
Each one 30mg. and since they are tested by CW Analytical, they are consistently
potent. I take 1 - 1 & 1/2 and they always do the trick. And being High Grade Chocolate
from South America, they melt in your mouth sublingal.

 

[Tudo]

Regarding Edibles, I have found that the -Bhang Cannabis Chocolates, Double Strength,
120 mg.THC & 5mg. CBD & 5mg.,Work exceedingly well. They come in 4 servings,
Each one 30mg. and since they are tested by CW Analytical, they are consistently
potent. I take 1 - 1 & 1/2 and they always do the trick. And being High Grade Chocolate
from South America, they melt in your mouth sublingal.

Me too, just got a box of em to try out:

I took a couple segments of the double strength and got pretty woozy from it, it definitely helped take my focus off the pain at least enough to where I didn't even smoke anything for a few hours. But I definitely had constipation the next morning which I anticipate anyway because of the percocets, but it seemed a little worse. I'm not 100% sure it originated from the Bhang bars and will try again this weekend. Sure would like a few hours off sometime

 

[Tudo]

Tried the Toffee Double Strength ( was good too! ) Lasted just under 3 hours which is a long time!