CBD Products for Pain Management

There are lots of CBD offerings on the market, but what solutions are right for your pain management customers?

• By David Kopf
• Nov 19, 2019

For many pain management providers, CBD offers a new, attractive way to drive additional retail revenue while serving a wide swath of patient groups. Moreover, there’s a good chance their clients are already demanding those products.

According to market research firm Brightfield Group, the global CBD market could expand to $22 billion by 2022. Another study from Cowen and Company projects the CBD market to hit roughly $16 billion by 2025. Either way, those are sizable markets.

Those statistics correlate with the overall pain management market. Chronic pain is a major public health epidemic that costs the United States $299 billion to $324 billion in lost productivity every year, according to TheGoodBody.com. Approximately 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, with one in 10 experiencing pain every day for three months or more. For pain that lasts longer than 24 hours, the problem is even worse — one in four Americans are affected, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

What all this data clearly indicates is that CBD offers another way providers can address a very real market need. The key in serving that need is making sure you offer the right products, and like lots of products in the home medical equipment industry, that means offering choice. In that regard, there are four main product categories for CBD as it relates to pain management:

CBD oil. This is one of the two most familiar products with which providers are most familiar. CBD oil is CBD mixed with a carrier oil such as coconut oil. The oil is dosed using an eyedropper (typically integrated into the lid of the bottle) and put under the tongue where it is absorbed sublingually. The oils are sold in various strengths ranging from as little as 250 mg to more than 2000 mg. This is often a popular option for patients who also use CBD to help them sleep.

CBD topicals. CBD can also be integrated into lotions, creams, roll-ons and other topical products. Often these products will include heating or cooling ingredients such as menthol, as well. These are a popular option for site-specific administration of CBD for pain relief. Here again, dosages vary, but are usually lower than what’s seen in CDB oils.

CBD gummies and capsules. Another way to take CBD is via gummies or capsules. While they’re taken orally, similar to CBD oil, these are swallowed and absorbed by digestion. In the case of gummies, these are often flavored in order to make them easier to take.

CBD heat packs. Combining heating packs with CBD and aromatherapy, these new offerings take a unique approach to managing pain with CBD. They are made using industrial hemp and users simply microwave them like a heating pad and then place them on their aching neck or shoulders. The CBD is absorbed through the skin and inhaled through the lungs, and helps reduce pain in combination with the heat.

There are other products, such as CBD drink mixes, but stocking these four product categories should ensure a pain management provider is offering a good spectrum of CBD offerings.