NFL, NFLPA Commit over $500K to Fund Pain-Management Solution Studies, Includes CBD

The NFL and NFL Players Association are helping to fund a study on innovative pain management solutions.

In a joint release, the league and union have jointly awarded two research funding grants totaling $526,525 to independent medical researchers at the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience and Emory University for "investigations into innovative, first-of-their kind, alternative pain management methods that could benefit NFL players, and society at large," including the effects of CBD on alleviating concussion symptoms.

The grants were awarded based on two proposals, including one pilot study designed to assess non-invasive treatments of post-concussion headaches that are "poorly treated" and "highly debilitating" with medications and other treatment options have not been very effective.

The second study is a clinical trial designed to examine the effects of using a personalized pain coach "before orthopedic surgery to patients who sustain sports medicine injuries" and how it "affects postoperative recovery related to patient-reported pain outcomes, opioid utilization, and objective functional outcomes."

Dr. Allen Sills, NFL Chief Medical Officer, issued a statement in the release about the studies:

"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 NFL-NFLPA Pain Management Committee was formed in 2019 as a joint venture between the two parties to use education and research with the goal of benefiting the health and safety of players in the league.

The committee has previously awarded $1 million to medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and University of Regina to study the impact of cannabis and CBD on pain management.

The joint committee was formed after the NFLPA formed its own committee in 2016 to study the use of marijuana as a pain-management tool.