Session Information
Session Title: Research Spotlight: Pain and Spine Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Brock K. Bakewell, MPH: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: Spinal stenosis is a degenerative narrowing of the spinal canal. This chronic low back condition can cause restrictions in mobility, impairment of daily activities, opioid dependence, anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life. Spinal stenosis can be treated through surgical and nonsurgical methods, but neither has proved consistently reliable. CBD has also been observed to have anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, and antipsychotic behaviors. CBD may provide greater nonsurgical treatment options for the pain associated with spinal stenosis while minimizing the need for opioids; an observational study was undertaken to assess CBD’s effects for patients suffering from chronic spinal stenosis.
Design: Prospective observational cohort study.Setting : Outpatient clinic sites.Participants : 48 patients with low back pain and/or leg pain due to spinal stenosis.
Interventions: Hemp-derived CBD gel caps.
Main Outcome Measures: Patient reported outcomes, medication utilization, quality of life outcomes. All outcomes collected via surveys at 6 separate clinic visits, each 4 weeks apart.
Results: The patient population’s age ranged from 63 to 95 years and was normally distributed, with a mean age of 75 ± 7.13 years. The sex distribution was 33% male and 67% female patients. The pain was broken down between the six visits for each of the four questions: pain right now, usual pain level during the week, best pain level during the week, and worst pain level during the week. Usual pain levels (P < 0.001) and worst pain levels (P < 0.005) demonstrated statistically significant improvement over time, while pain right now (P > 0.05) and best pain level (P > 0.05) stayed consistent throughout the without statistical significance.Conclusions: This open-label, prospective, observational study found that treatment with hemp-derived CBD gel caps was associated with significant improvements in pain scores and several quality-of-life measures. Improvements in pain scores ultimately led to improvements in patients’ quality of life.
Level of Evidence: Level III
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Bakewell BK, Sherman M, Binsfeld K, Greis A, Stolzenberg D, Stache S. CBD in Patients with Low Back Pain Caused by Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: An Observational Study [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/cbd-in-patients-with-low-back-pain-caused-by-lumbar-spinal-stenosis-an-observational-study/. Accessed May 18, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/cbd-in-patients-with-low-back-pain-caused-by-lumbar-spinal-stenosis-an-observational-study/