Sports Injuries and CBD: What Does the Research Say?

For someone who plays sports, an injury doesn't just mean pain: being away from training, losing form and the question "When can I come back?" are part of it too. That is why many athletes who are wary of painkillers' side effects or want to recover faster are curious about CBD. In this article we explain in plain language what studies show about CBD for sports injuries and recovery after exercise, the risks related to drug testing, and what you can talk about with your sports medicine doctor.

Common sports injuries

Most sports injuries come with pain, swelling and limited movement. Common ones include:

• Sprains and strains: Stretching or tearing of ligaments or muscles; most common in the ankle and knee.
• Tendon problems: Tendon inflammation that develops with repetitive loading, such as Achilles tendon problems, tennis elbow or jumper's knee.
• Muscle soreness after exercise: Pain that builds a day or two after unaccustomed or intense exercise and is linked to small injuries in muscle fibers.
• Fractures and head injuries: Especially in contact sports.

Depending on the type of injury, rest, cold therapy, physical therapy, painkillers and, when needed, surgery are used; a sports medicine doctor or orthopedic specialist decides which is appropriate.

Why are people curious about CBD?

CBD (cannabidiol) is a compound found in the cannabis plant that, unlike THC, does not cause a high or mental fog. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has not kept CBD on its prohibited list since 2018, and athletes use CBD for recovery, sleep or anxiety (Gillham 2026). Some effects related to inflammation and pain seen in lab and animal studies have also fueled interest; details are in our article on CBD and inflammation. For example, in rats, CBD increased the strength of healing thigh bone fractures (Kogan 2015). This is an animal experiment; CBD has not been shown to speed up fracture healing in humans.

What does the research say?

Whether a treatment works is best shown by controlled studies in which participants are randomly assigned to groups and one group takes a product that looks the same but has no active ingredient (placebo). Studies of CBD in sports have mostly been done in healthy volunteers, on muscle damage induced in the lab; there are no studies with real injuries.

CBD by mouth and recovery

• 13 untrained men: In those who took 150 mg of CBD oil three times after exercise that strained the arm muscles, muscle soreness, swelling and loss of strength did not differ from placebo (Cochrane-Snyman 2021).
• 24 well-trained female athletes: CBD taken before and after intense leg exercise did not change blood markers of inflammation, muscle damage, fatigue or performance (Crossland 2022).
• 17 trained athletes: In a six-day intensive training program, 60 mg of CBD was taken after each session; neither of two different CBD products had a clear effect on performance or inflammation measures (Isenmann 2024).
• 29-person pilot study: Those who took a CBD-rich cannabis extract under the tongue reported less pain and loss of strength 48 hours after damage induced in the thigh muscles. This study was designed mainly to measure feasibility; the researchers stress that the result needs to be confirmed in larger studies (Stauffer 2026).

A review of seven studies reached a similar conclusion: CBD may have a limited effect on some measures, such as oxygen use and average power, but data on strength and recovery are limited (Bezuglov 2024).

CBD on the skin and muscle soreness

In a 28-person study of a CBD cream applied to the skin for muscle soreness after exercise, there was no difference from placebo in pain, pain threshold for pressure or performance (Pastina 2025). Another 15-person study also found no difference in delayed muscle soreness; only one strength measure showed a moderate difference (Mendes 2026). Many athletes say a CBD cream gives them relief; but other ingredients such as menthol, and expectations, can also affect this feeling. Details on creams are in our article on CBD creams.

Acute pain and after surgery

In a review of controlled studies of pure CBD for pain, CBD was not found better than placebo in 15 of 16 studies (Moore 2024). After shoulder surgery, CBD absorbed through the cheek slightly reduced pain on the first day, with no difference on the following days, and painkiller use did not change (Alaia 2022). Details are in our article on orthopedic conditions.

A note on drug testing for athletes

CBD has not been on WADA's prohibited list since 2018. But according to the 2026 list, natural and synthetic cannabinoids other than CBD, including THC, are prohibited in competition (WADA 2026). The problem often lies in what the product contains:

• THC not listed on the label was found in about one in five CBD products bought online (Bonn-Miller 2017).
• In people who used 150 mg a day of a "broad-spectrum" CBD product for 10 weeks, no THC was found in urine, but prohibited CBG and CBDV were detected; this rate increased after exercise (from 68% to 84% for CBDV) (Gillham 2026).

Details are on our Athletes and CBD page.

Possible side effects and drug interactions

• Common side effects: Fatigue, diarrhea, and changes in appetite or weight (Iffland 2017). Sleepiness can affect training and competition performance.
• Liver: In a 4-week study in healthy adults, liver enzymes rose markedly in 5.6% of those taking 5 mg of CBD per kilogram per day (Florian 2025).
• Painkillers: No meaningful documented interaction with drugs such as ibuprofen is known, but there are no direct studies either. For other medicines, see our drug interactions page.

How was it used in the studies?

• 150 mg of CBD oil three times after exercise,
• 5 mg of CBD per kilogram, three times before and after exercise,
• 60 mg of CBD after each training session,
• 67 mg a day of a CBD-rich extract under the tongue (15 days),
• About 100 mg of CBD per application in a cream applied to the skin.

These are study doses, not personal recommendations. With most of these doses, no clear difference from placebo was seen in recovery.

If you are considering CBD

It is very understandable that you want to get over an injury as soon as possible. You can talk about the following with your sports medicine doctor or team doctor:

• The type of injury, the recovery time and a rehabilitation program that suits you.
• If you are a licensed athlete, the drug testing risk of the product you are considering.
• The painkillers and other medicines you take.
• If you have had a concussion or head injury, having your symptoms assessed by a doctor; there is no human study looking at CBD's effect on this.

In Turkey, cannabis-derived products, including CBD, can be sold only in pharmacies (Law No. 7557, regulation of January 31, 2026). Those classed as medicines or health products are dispensed on prescription; no prescription requirement is stated for supplement products with at most 0.3% THC. As of October 2026, there is no approved CBD medicine in Turkey. Details are on our regulations page.

Conclusion

The first controlled studies of CBD in sports are small and mostly about muscle soreness after exercise; in most of them, no clear difference was seen between those who took CBD and those who did not. There are not yet any human studies on the injuries themselves, and for licensed athletes, product contents carry a separate risk. Rest, proper rehabilitation and a plan made with your sports medicine doctor are the most solid path today; if you are curious about CBD, you can bring that up in the same conversation.

Frequently asked questions

References