Cannabis against chronic muskuloskeletal pain: A scoping review on users and their perceptions

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background </jats:bold>Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) may lead to reduced physical function and is the most common cause of chronic non cancer pain. Currently, the pharmacotherapeutic options against CMP are limited and mainly consist of pain management with gabapentinoids or opioids, which carry major adverse effects. Although the effectiveness of medical cannabis (MC) for CMP still lacks solid evidence, several patients suffering from it are exploring this therapeutic option.<jats:bold>Objectives</jats:bold> Little is known about MC users suffering from CMP. We aimed to increase this knowledge, useful for health care professionals and policy makers considering this treatment, as well as for researchers planning rigorous randomized clinical trials on the effectiveness of MC.<jats:bold>Methods </jats:bold>We conducted a scoping literature review, according to the methods developed by Arksey and O’Malley, to describe the views and perceptions of patients who had consumed MC to relieve chronic CMP and other non-cancer pain, as well as their demographic characteristics, patterns of MC use, and perceived positive and negative effects.<jats:bold>Conclusion </jats:bold>Our review shows that MC users are frequently young or middle-aged men, and that the preferred form of use was smoking. Participants of the included studies reported that MC use was helpful in reducing CMP and other chronic non-cancer pain with only minor adverse effects; in addition, they reported improved psychological well-being. <jats:bold>Discussion </jats:bold>The information from the included studies has several methodological limitations and is exploratory. MC use might, from the perspective of persistent users suffering from CMP and other chronic non-cancer pain, produce more benefits than harms. However, specific results for CMP are very scarce.</jats:p>