Which Terpenes Are Best for Pain?

The non-opioid pain treatment market is expected to be worth $31.8 billion by 2024. Interest in natural pain treatments is on the rise, and the cannabinoids CBD and THC are at the center of this increasingly holistic approach to chronic pain.

 

What if it were possible to boost the potential pain-relieving effects of cannabinoids? What if certain botanical compounds could add pain-relief properties to any product?

Do terpenes help with pain?

Yes, research indicates that certain terpenes might have pain-relieving properties. While best-known for their presence in Cannabis sativa, terpenes can also be derived from hundreds of different non-cannabis plants.

 

Different terpenes seem to address pain in different ways. Some terpenes appear to have anti-inflammatory properties while others seem to influence the way your brain processes pain signals.

 

Pain-relief products might become more effective when paired with terpenes. It may also be possible to design effective pain-oriented products that only contain terpenes.

What terpene is best for pain?

The terpenes linalool, myrcene, pinene, limonene, and caryophyllene have been widely researched for their potential pain-relieving attributes. Any terpene that has been demonstrated to offer anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, or analgesic properties might be useful as a pain treatment.

1. Is linalool good for pain?

Linalool has been researched for its potential pain-relief benefits. A 2003 study published in the European Journal of Pharmacology reported the results of research into the anti-inflammatory and nociceptive properties of linalool. The researchers found that linalool interacts with the body’s “opioidergic and cholinergic systems.”

2. Is myrcene good for pain?

Scientific studies have been conducted into the potential benefits of myrcene for neuropathic pain. A 2016 study published in Planta Medica sought to determine the effects of myrcene and another terpene, eugenol, on the pain caused by sciatic nerve injury, which is a type of neuropathic pain.

3. Is pinene good for pain?

There are two forms of pinene: alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. Both forms of this terpene have been researched for their potential pain-relief benefits.

 

An exhaustive review of the available evidence on pinene and pain was published in the journal Biomolecules in 2019. This review covered research that has been conducted into the benefits of pinene for tooth pain, inflammatory pain, and other common types of pain.

4. Is limonene good for pain?

Limonene has been studied for its pain-relieving potential. A 2017 study published in the journal Neuroscience, for instance, explored the potential usefulness of limonene for chronic musculoskeletal pain. Another study, published in the European Journal of Pain in 2016, explored TRPA1 receptor activation as a possible mechanism of action of limonene analgesia.

5. Is caryophyllene good for pain?

The pain-relieving potential of caryophyllene has been closely examined due to this terpene’s observed activation of the body’s CB2 receptors, a neuroreceptor that’s involved in the pain-relieving properties of cannabinoids. A 2014 study published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, for instance, examines the usefulness of caryophyllene for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

Which terpenes are good for inflammation?

Linalool, pinene, and caryophyllene are the most-investigated terpenes when it comes to potential inflammatory pain relief. If you’re making a product that’s specifically targeted toward inflammation, it might be best to include all three of these terpenes.

There are two main types of pain: inflammatory and neuropathic. Inflammatory pain is caused by chronic inflammation, which occurs when your immune system goes on overdrive.

Neuropathic pain, on the other hand, occurs when your nerves are damaged. In some cases, neuropathic and inflammatory pain can be caused by the same conditions, and the same treatment might be effective for both types of pain.

The root causes of inflammatory and neuropathic pain are, however, clearly distinct. So, it’s best to be aware of which terpenes have been researched for neuropathic pain and which have been researched for inflammation.

Which terpenes are good for headaches?

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Headache Pain explored the benefits of different cannabis strains for headaches. The researchers who conducted this study found that participants who suffered from headaches preferred strains with “predominant terpenes β-caryophyllene and β-myrcene.”

Headaches are generally caused by tension in the skin and muscles surrounding the skull. As a result, terpene profiles that are commonly known to reduce stress or provide calming, uplifting sensations may be best for headache pain.

Which terpene blends are best for pain products?

As you search for the terpenes that will match perfectly with your pain-relief products, you should keep a few important factors in mind:

• Botanical terpenes are 100% legal
• Cannabis-derived terpenes are legally ambiguous
• Terpenes work better when they’re combined
• Certain cannabis strains are well-known for their pain-relieving properties
• Mixtures of botanical terpenes that mimic the terpene profiles of pain-relieving cannabis strains offer the greatest benefits with the least hassle

At Terpene Warehouse, all of our terpenes are botanically derived. Some of our terpene blends, however, combine the exact terpenes present in famous cannabis strains at true-to-strain ratios.

If you’re putting together a product that’s designed to combat pain and you want to boost it with the benefits of terpenes, these are the three strain-specific Terpene Warehouse blends that we’d recommend:

Terpene Warehouse Do-Si-Dos

Containing high concentrations of linalool, caryophyllene, limonene, myrcene, and pinene, Do-Si-Dos is a quintuple threat. The terpene profile derived from this legendary strain contains all five of the terpenes that have been most-researched for their pain-relieving potential.

Terpene Warehouse Jack Herer

Beloved among cannabis smokers for its distinctive terpinolene taste, Jack Herer also contains reasonable concentrations of caryophyllene, myrcene, limonene, and pinene, making this terpene profile ideal if you want to craft products equipped with terpenes that have been thoroughly researched for their analgesic properties.

Terpene Warehouse Tahoe OG

The cannabis strain Tahoe OG is renowned for its remarkably high limonene content, and limonene is one of the most-researched terpenes when it comes to potential pain-relieving properties. In addition to limonene, Tahoe OG also contains high concentrations of caryophyllene and myrcene, terpenes that pain-relief researchers have also investigated intently.

Is there anything else I should keep in mind when choosing the best terpenes for pain?

Here are a few final tips to keep in mind as you determine which terpenes to include in your pain products:

• Almost all cannabis strains have high concentrations of myrcene and caryophyllene
• Therefore, most strain-specific terpene blends are appropriate for pain products
• Zero in on the specific results you want to provide by differentiating between terpenes that have been researched for inflammatory pain relief and terpenes that have been researched for neuropathic pain relief

Craft products that treat pain naturally with terpenes

As the opioid epidemic continues to negatively impact lives around the country, demand for natural pain-relief products will only continue to rise. CBD and cannabis consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of terpenes, and they want their products to be as potent as possible.

A few years from now, it’s likely that terpenes will be just as renowned for their medicinal applications as cannabinoids. Get ahead of the curve by boosting your CBD or cannabis products with the exact terpenes that science has singled out in the quest for natural answers to pain.