Cannabinoids Making Important Waves in the Sports World
- Team Genova
- Sep 11, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 11, 2019
With the NHL leading the way, a wide-range of professional athletes are stepping up and taking charge of their healthcare to better support injury recovery, increase awareness and advocate for new research and different regulations to better treat pain and injury for the long term.
With two of our team members closely linked to the professional hockey world, we understand the importance of having access to an alternative form of therapy as one of the most valuable tools we can offer these athletes who put their bodies on the line night after night. It's not just during the playing career we are talking about. It's the aftermath being experienced in retirement that we have seen first hand that needs to be addressed and treated as early, safely and effectively as possible to allow these athletes to live a comfortable, healthy life after sport.
The research partnership formed between the NHL Alumni Association, NEEK Healthcare Canada and Canopy Growth is setting in motion just that, making an exciting and important leap in athletic recovery and a necessary step away from the opioids far too often prescribed to mask an array of pain experienced in the daily hockey grind versus actually treating it.
This clinical-research initiative partnership involves the use of cannabinoids (CBD) for pain management and the treatment of post-concussion neurological disorders.
NHLAA executive director Glenn Healy is calling it “the most ambitious project the Alumni Association has ever done.” The multimillion-dollar endeavour is a partnership among the Association and its 3,800 members, NEEKA Healthcare Canada and Canopy Growth, a Smith Falls, Ont., company that produces cannabis-based products.
Participating are 100 former players from Southern Ontario who are dealing with physical pain and post-concussion symptoms such as anxiety, depression and progressive dementia. Some players will need assistance weaning themselves off addictive opioids said to be a lingering problem shared by retired and current athletes, particularly those still dealing with the pain from contact sports. (NEEKA Health Canada, NHL Alumni Association Teams Up With Canopy Growth to Research Concussions and Cannabinoids)
CBD is currently banned by the NFL, as well as other major professional sports leagues including MLB and the NBA, but that has not stopped many powerful voices in these spaces from stepping up, sharing their stories and even entering into the cannabis markets and business themselves. One in particular making waves is former New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski who retired at the age of 29 and is now speaking out and sharing his journey through football to CBD. In sharing his story and his partnership with Abacus Health Products, Gronkowski is fighting for the legal use of cannabis in the National Football League and beyond.
Moving forward, the hopes are high to change regulation in sport medicine and therapy across the sporting world and inspire new research initiatives to further investigate the potential of CBD as a treatment for injury and recovery, and we at Genova will be keeping a close eye on the progress and development.
To read further on what the NHLAA, NEEKA and Canopy are up to visit:
To read Rob Gronkowski's story:
*Sources:
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