June 22 (UPI) — The NFL and players’ union announced that they will fund studies with a total of $526,525 to explore alternative pain management solutions, including the use of cannabidiol (CBD). Researchers from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience and Emory University will conduct the studies, which will involve professional athletes from outside the NFL.
NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills stated, “We are always seeking new knowledge, techniques, and tools to ensure that NFL athletes are treated with the best possible care. We are proud to lead the way on investigating how the use of CBD and other alternative measures could positively impact pain management for players. As within the broader scope of player health and safety, we want to ensure every treatment at our disposal clears the appropriate medical standard for wider use.”
The studies, funded by two grants, will focus on the effects of CBD and non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation in alleviating concussion symptoms. They will also explore the impact of mindfulness-based intervention in treating sports medicine injuries.
Last year, the NFL awarded $1 million to researchers at the University of California-San Diego and the University of Regina in Canada for studies on CBD’s effects on pain recovery and neuroprotection methods. The research groups for these new studies were selected by the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee.
One of the studies, titled “Pilot Study Assessing Non-Invasive Treatment of Refractory Post-Concussion Headache Pain,” will be led by Dr. Erika Petersen and researchers from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience. It will compare the effects of vagal nerve stimulation and CBD in contact-sport athletes experiencing post-traumatic headaches.
The other study, led by Drs. Nicholas Giordano and Mara Schenker at Emory University, is titled “Implementing and Evaluating the Effect of Personalized Pain Coaches After Orthopaedic Surgery for Patients Who Sustain Sports Medicine Injuries to Improve Postoperative Outcomes.” This clinical trial will examine how mindfulness-based intervention prior to orthopedic surgery affects postoperative recovery, patient-reported pain outcomes, opioid utilization, and objective functional outcomes. Participants will be educated on incorporating mindfulness practices into their routines.
“The pain management committee is thrilled that the NFL and NFLPA are funding rigorous studies on multiple treatment modalities to improve the treatment of pain,” said Dr. Kevin Hill, co-chair of the NFL-NFLPA committee. He added, “It is our hope that these studies will help the players manage the pain that may be a part of professional football.”
The NFL clarified that these studies will not impact the league’s policy on substance abuse. In the 2022-23 regular season, 149 concussions were reported, up from 126 in the previous season. An average of 130 reported concussions were sustained between the 2018 and 2020 campaigns.
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