One of the symptoms some diabetics suffer from as the disease progresses is neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain begins when diabetes affects the nerves and you start to feel tingling, numbness, and shooting pain in parts of your body—especially in your feet. The pain can become so severe that it becomes debilitating and affects some of your daily life activities like walking and standing. A series of studies by the University of California at San Diego has shown that using medical marijuana can help relieve the pain and discomfort caused by neuropathic pain. Here is a brief overview of diabetes, nerve damage, and how medical marijuana can relieve the pain associated with that damage.

How Diabetes Damages Nerves

The cause of neuropathic damage due to diabetes is still being studied, but among the most likely reasons are high glucose levels over time, low insulin levels, and other factors. Diabetes is a condition in which you have high glucose levels and low insulin levels along with other factors that cause the nerves to become painful. The exact cause remains undetermined, but the high number of diabetics suffering from this has shown that there is a link between the disease and the condition.

How Marijuana Relieves the Pain

Pain is transferred to the brain through the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system contains the nerves that go from the brain and inside the spine (also called the central nervous system) to the rest of the body where it can detect when there is damage to your body. When the nerves sense damage to the skin, bone, or organs, an alert in the form of pain is normally sent to the brain. In chronic conditions, the alert can be continuous and cause constant pain in a diabetic. Marijuana has been shown to block the path of some of the pain signals between the peripheral nervous system and the central system which makes people feel better.

The peripheral nerves have a lot of receptors that attract cannabinoids. Cannabinoids help block pain signals from reaching receptors in the central nervous system. The study from the University of California at San Diego determined the best way to take medical marijuana was to inhale it. This increased the level of cannabinoids entering the body to help relieve the pain.

If you are suffering from neuropathic pain caused by diabetes and you live in a state that has legalized medical marijuana, you should talk to your doctor to find out how medical marijuana can help your condition. For more information, contact experts at establishments like Pono Life Sciences, LLC.