does marijuana cause back pain?

I too am now investigating why Weed can increase pain, because it certainly has that affect on me. At 60. after a lifetime of too much wear and tear on my spine, I now have a couple of degenerative vertebrae and probable sciatica. My hip, buttt, back of my thigh and big toe hurt pretty much all the time, more so when the barometric pressure drops. I am not a long time consumer of weed because it used to make me nauseous, or if not, reduced my appetite and food was repulsive (I am very thin). Recently my boyfriend gave me various edibles, believing that they would relax me and ease the pain. Quite the opposite occurred. My pain increased by many times and my back often went into excruciating spasms. I stretched and exercised thing the movement would help. I realized a pattern associated with weed use and Discomfort, and a couple of times recently I was on the verge of going to urgent care. No more weed for me. The pain is more manageable with ibuprofen and hot rice socks (white rice in a sock tied at one end and heated in the microwave) placed in various places under my spine while I am reclining. The heat goes a long way in relieving the pain. I suggest using the rice bags for tense or spasming muscles!

Hi, I think you replied to me. We'll call me LP (I had the minor mod altercation). No offense but you have classic symptoms of drug addict too. Once the neural pathways are messed with you become hypersensitive to pain, sometimes permanently to some degree. Mixing drugs very dangerous, triples the damage. How ppl have such little respect for their bodies is both an education/harm min deficiency & psychological disorder in the first instance. In fact, many philosophers & most doctors today ponder this greatly- 'Do ppl find drugs OR do the drugs seek out the damaged soul'? A chicken - egg thing. Well, good luck stay in touch, you def got the high metab.

Hi Ms Rice, I just replied to the person before you (I'm LP). Well I can decipher some mystery whilst here. Weed is mystical in that it is both a stimulant & relaxant. It's truly unique. It also plays havoc with blood pressure ie. Raises it when relaxing, & oppositely drops when trying to be active. Blood also thickens, this is said to be good for nothing at all except the brain. The stimulant..this will send the pain signals tenfold (most don't notice this because they are on the couch sleeping or watching TV) whilst the muscle relaxant triggers the brain into sleep mode. Dehydration ensues & lasts a long time. While pain is increased so too is pleasure. We are fiddling with the primal part of the brain. So stretching & cracking one's back becomes an all too irresistible urge. Often, this reward is enough to outway the negative, thus, a new (but anciently used) complex medicine is revived to deal with our modern day complex problems. I don't think I'd recommend it for you in particular but you certainly sound like an Osteopath would be of some assistance to you. Heat bags have limits & I'm sure you deserve & can achieve more quality. My saying is- leave the pot for the potheads & cancer patients. Take care.

Exact things happen to me. I am experiencing all the stuff you are talking about and I don't have any explanation at all.

I too have experienced pain after smoking cannabis. I used to smoke when I was younger and thgen quit for 25 years. Took it up again, this time buying it legally. So I trust the source. I didnt have the pain for about the first 6 months, then it started. Spasms, joint pain, and what feel like menstrual cramps.

Did you ever figure out what was causing all the joint pain after smoking? I experienced the same results the last 10 years and stopped smoking about 5 years ago because of the pain. It feels like arthritis and cracking or poping my fingers, toes and back help relieve some of the pain. I don't believe it's related to quality of green and my friend grows all natural organic Herb and I noticed the pain is not as bad so could be something to do with the pesticides and Chemical's in most weed. If I take Motrin or Ibuprofen 30min before smoking this helps with the pain and make sure you stay active stretch out and go for a jog or walk this takes your mind off the joint pain and keeps the blood heart rate up. Drink lots of filtered water this helps as well. Hopefully we can figure out the main cause and I can experience the pain free highs again like the old days..

It depends on the strain but I get back pain as well when I smoke it.

Dude. I'm in the exact same boat.

Marijuana is very addictive and difficult to quit. From what I read here, the best way to stay alive is to quit. I smoke and get unbearable lower back pains. When I stop smoking, the pains goes away. It has nothing to do with cigarettes or coffee. My beloved friends, just master the courage to stop smoking because I am stopping now. I have a cup full of weed and it's going down the toilet. Thanks

I believe people are getting back pains from smoking laced bud. Bud does not make you feel that way. Although eating it or using it in cosmetics is better than smoking because de smoke clouds your brain but will give you more cells than it burns even from smoking. It seems to be something that getting laced bud is de only way to get bud now days so it's better to get it from a doctor. You don't have to believe me I know a lot of people will argue de bud ain't laced your dealer will say that & you gonna wonder why it never happened before just look uP de effects of cocaine for starters & other drugs that's what happens. Also be Leary of de doctors too. It's a bad world we live in. I hate that some people use de bud as a scape goat saying bud is bad because it got laced just stop picking on de bud it is NOT de bud making your back hurt it is de lace you do not want. It's not fair people are doing that. Just a piece of advice to Stick to Reggie if you must get it from a street vendor & do no settle because they only have kush. Say no & or Google ways to tell if de bud is laced. I'm not saying this for certain but it seems like there's a conspiracy against weed to make it look bad against de better economic development​ of legalization.

Hi Guest this is LP. There is no conspiracy here, this is a serious medical forum. We just smoke high potency/high quality bud which is exacerbating our preexisting health conditions & injuries, mainly pertaining to nerves & muscles. I will say though, you aren't completely out of line. I have it on good word that most street weed IS being laced (with ICE) you are correct. People need to be vigilant & form public weed communities (if necessary) many of which already exist, & where the 'word' is usually good, reliable & fast travelling. I thank you for your contribution. Happy smoking.

This is just too uncanny. I believe there is a very real, sudden onset condition caused by consuming cannabis, and it seems to affect the same area in the body every time. I have smoked regularly for 3 years now, but just over a week ago I had immediate and acute symptoms. Pain that got so bad that I had trouble breathing in, and I thought it could be a bilateral kidney infection. After a few days, I went to a walk-in clinic to see if I had kidney infections, and right away he visibly saw my back muscles squeezing tight as hell, urine analysis showed no infection. I got prescribed muscle relaxers, and took them but they wouldn't work because I was still ingesting cannabis gummies and taking dabs of RSO, believing the weed could only help, right?

Then I realized after taking a dab that my pain was getting worse. I didn't want to believe it at first, just thinking that coughing after a hit was causing the spasms to kick in. So I smoked more after my muscles relaxed, and didn't cough. SPASMS. Damnit. The spasms got so bad, wrapping around my left side,making my ribs pop when inhaling, and making one of my thoracic vertebrae stick out further than normal. Like my muscles were literally pulling my bones out of place. Today my abs and back muscles feel like they did a rigorous workout.

I found a study performed by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and they discovered, and I quote, "Active ingredients in marijuana found to spread an prolong pain". Specifically, in the spinal cord, they found that cannabinoids removed inhibition in pain transduction. In other words, it lets pain signals travel easily and feel more pronounced.

That being said, I also have a back injury (L4 Spondylolithesis) as well as episacral lipoma. So my back is ripe for transmitting more pain signals. I'm curious if every person who experiences what I'll coin "Sudden Onset Cannabis Induced Spasms" (SOCIS) also has pre-existing nerve damage/trauma. Obviously the other person with L2 disc herniation would qualify. It makes me think it's a condition specifically within the spine, and not the neurons in the extremities or the brain. This is because the majority of posts pertain to lower back pain, but I've also read about and have personally experienced spasms in my thoracic and cervical spine after cannabis consumption.

I think a study needs to be performed for Sudden Onset Cannabis Induced Spasms (SOCIS). Right now too many variables exist, and it could be a condition that may start without warning to anyone, no matter how many times they've smoked. I've read accounts of it happening after several instances of consuming cannabis, others after almost a life of smoking without previous issues. It could be associated with previous spinal cord injury/aggravation. People with mental conditions like Bipolar disorder and depression could potentially be more likely to develop SOCIS (just a theory). I only say this because I have mental health diagnosis that predate my cannabis use, and I also saw a post from someone with SOCIS symptoms that suffers from Bipolar disorder. Also, SOCIS appears to occur just as randomly in young cannabis users, which should have much fewer incidents of pre-existing spinal injury... Could also be linked to autoimmune. I'm just throwing ideas out there. Any way you dice it, it's a real condition that has repeatable and similar symptoms across different people who develop it.

Cheers, and hopefully we can find out more! I definitely don't want to quit smoking weed, but I will if I can't enjoy it without incredibly painful and debilitating spasms. As of now, I'm abstaining.

-Jackson F.

My educated answer to the back pain is that vaping/smoking marijuana takes a huge toll on our adrenal glands, which are located on top of our kidneys. These glands play an important function in our adrenaline (fight or flight response). I believe that smoking marijuana over a period of time damages these adrenal glands, since it makes them work harder and harder. As a result, constantly activating these glands is what causes our back pain. In addition, the dangerous pesticides, mold, and toxic synthetic nutrients that are added to marijuana is what's damaging our kidneys and adrenal glands more and more. Cause of this pain, I've been feeling so depressed thinking I had cancer, etc. BUT NO MORE!!! I've quit vaping weed about a week now and feel alot better. No more pain and I'm finally happy. I loved Marijuana because I always considered it as a natural plant that has been given my mother nature. However, the danger comes from the toxic artificial chemicals human's use to grow these plants, therefore, making it dangerous for us humans to consume. So without knowing whether the marijuana has been grown organically without any dangerous chemicals, I will stop consuming marijuana, period. I hope all of you read this and has helped you in some way. I've been smoking/vaping weed strong for about 5 years and I've finally found what was causing my back pain. Thus, I've quit cold turkey for 1 week now and feel no pain anymore. I'm finally living the life I deserve. Happy and pain free!

I've been looking into this almost non-stop since my post, and I've made some interesting observations. Hear me out!

I've noticed something occurs commonly with chronic pot smokers: functional Kyphosis.
Smoking habitually may provide a double pronged effect. First, bad posture from 'relaxed' smoking sessions day in and day out can lead to a muscle imbalance in the back. This imbalance will eventually lead to a slight or pronounced hunchback, and back pain from muscle strain. If certain studies are correct, that high doses of cannabis can remove pain inhibition in spinal pathways, then smoking weed will only exacerbate the issue. Also, you'll be perpetuating the bad posture by smoking more..

So, is it possible to fix? I think so. You need to loosen the muscles that cause bad posture (with a back roller) and strengthen the muscles that hold your back in correct posture. It will take time. It's boring, but it's not hard to do.

A side note: it is probably best to quit smoking to promote recovery. However, depending on how regularly you consume cannabis, try tapering down slowly. I was doing very high doses, then quit cold turkey. Only a good idea if you enjoy 3 days of insomnia, sweaty hands/feet, and mood swings. Anyone who says you can't have withdrawals from cannabis is spewing sh*t. It doesn't mean cannabis is evil because it causes withdrawals. Caffeine causes withdrawals too, and we don't outcast the people who get them or call them addicts.

I plan to post back here after I recover fully, with a follow up. Cheers!

J.F.

Yeah, my story goes like this, i smoked mary jane like 8 to 10 years, something like 2 to 3 times a week and sometimes 2-3 weeks passed without, i wasnt addicted to it, everything was ok but in last 2-3 years i began to feel upper back pain (between shoulder blades) and wasnt sure what caused it, later on i realised it was from smoking weed, and it hurts me right after i smoke, pain is not too strong, its like 4 on a scale to 10, but its annoying and it lasts cca 2 days. Then i realised i had this trigger points (between shoulder blades) or muscle knots and weed in my case cause inflammation of knots and then they press on the nerves causing pain. Only relief was laying down on the flor and keeping constant pressure with tennis ball for like 2-3 mins but that works only temporarily. I think i need to quit..yeah. Good luck