This review of CBD oil by Shannon Ullman was originally published on YourTango [1].

A cure for my chronic pain?!

I kept hearing about CBD oil benefits for chronic pain. Like, a lot. It was all over my newsfeed and a topic of conversation among my friends. They kind of wouldn't shut up about it.

So I decided to do my own research because for one, I didn't quite believe them, and two, because I suffer from chronic pain. If this magical CBD oil could help, I wanted to know everything I could.

What Is CBD Oil?

CBD stands for cannabidiol, a compound found in the marijuana plant — gasp! I know, I know, the idea of marijuana brings to mind psychedelic trips and junk food sessions on the couch. But CBD isn't the stuff that gets you high [2] (that's THC). Instead, CBD offers a whole host of relaxing healing properties without the actual "getting stoned" part.

According to scientific studies [3], CBD has shown to reduce inflammation, curb pain, and promote relaxation. All of which sounds pretty darn good to someone who suffers from chronic pain. Plus, it's natural, which seemed way better to me than taking harsh medications.

It turns out that CBD is legal around the U.S (as long as it contains little or no THC), and that people all over the country are using it to treat pain [4].

Testing CBD Oil Benefits For Chronic Pain

After reading the research, I wanted to give this stuff a try. I've had chronic pain in my jaw joints (TMJ) [5] for the past 13 years. Because of some bad orthodontics as a kid, I now suffer from stiff jaw joints, arthritis, inner ear pain, neck pain, facial muscle spasms, and soreness from my temples to my chin. There's lots of clicking, popping, and moving around, which makes it difficult to eat.

And, because of all the pain, it's difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep, snuggle with my boyfriend, or chew certain foods.

While I used to pop ibuprofen for the pain, I realised how damageing those pills can be to the body (especially the liver and kidneys). Taking this kind of medication every day for 13 years surely would have caused some internal damage. So, I deal with it. I tough it out, and when it's just too much pain to handle, I will occasionally take an Advil.

You can probably guess how pumped I was to learn about this new, natural remedy. While there are a ton of CBD oil salves and creams out there, I went with Exhemplary Life's muscle and joint balm. It has 125 mg of CBD (which is a moderate amount compared to other products) and smells like lavender (my fave).

The balm comes in a push-up stick, so it was easy to apply right to my skin. I rubbed it on the area of my face from my temples to my chin and I rubbed some directly on my jawline and behind my ears.

After applying it, I noticed a few things within the first five minutes. First, it felt like my jaw muscles were warming up. Not like an Icy Hot kind of burning, but just warm. Then, I could feel that my jaw started to relax (normally I'm doing some kind of clenching to keep it in place.) Eventually, I started to notice what felt like tiny muscle spasms in my face around my jawline. Maybe the muscles loosening up? It felt pretty great, and smelled good too.

My only complaint is that I wish it lasted a bit longer. After 20 minutes, I felt like I had to reapply to get the same effects as in the first five minutes.

I'm excited to keep using it though because I've read that the longer you use CBD products, the more effective they become on your body. So, we'll see! I'll be keeping my eye on more CBD options to see what works!

Shannon is a lifestyle, health, and wellness writer with a special interest in CBD oil and medical marijuana. You can see more content like this on her site Miss Marijuana [6].

Check out more great stories from YourTango:

• What CBD Oil Actually Is (and Its Potential Health Benefits) [7]
• What Happens To Your Body When You Take Ibuprofen Too Often [8]
• If You Smoke Pot To Reduce Anxiety, It Turns Out There's A Perfect Amount To Use [9]