Why Treating Pain With Medical Cannabis Isn’t an Exact Science
Treating chronic pain management clinic is one of the most common reasons for using medical cannabis. Given how we use other types of medications to treat pain, it would seem that doing so with cannabis would be more standardized then it currently is. But that is not the case. The fact is that treating pain with cannabis is not an exact science.
As someone who knows several people who live with chronic pain, I can tell you that treating it with traditional therapies is not an exact science either. Doctors can prescribe a variety of drugs to control pain. They can recommend physical therapy, regenerative medicine, and even surgeries. Sometimes it can seem like a doctor is just going through a list of predetermined therapies, suggesting the patient try one at a time until something works.
The big question here is, why? Something like a broken bone is easy enough to treat with a standard protocol. Although there is some variation to cancer treatments, they are pretty standard. There is quite a bit of science behind treating cardiovascular disease. So what’s the deal with pain?
Pain Can’t Be Scientifically Measured
One of the first things to note about managing pain is that there is no scientific way to measure it. A simple x-ray can reveal a broken leg unequivocally. Seeing the image of the fractured bone leaves no doubt as to just how severe the fracture is. Measuring pain isn’t anywhere near as clear or concise.
Without some sort of diagnostic test, doctors are left to quantify pain based on patient reports. They rely on some sort of pain scale. Here are just two examples:
Visual Analog Scale – The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) asks patients to self-report their pain using a vertical line. One end of the line is labeled ‘no pain’ while the other is labeled ‘worst pain imaginable’. The patient marks on the line were their pain falls most of the time.
Numerical Rating Scale – The Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) asks patients to self-report their pain on a scale of 0-10. A rating of zero would mean no pain while a rating of ten would be the worst pain imaginable.
There are other scales doctors can utilize. Some even ask detailed questions in addition to the rating component. But the difficulty with all such scales is the same: the pain experience is based largely on perception. In other words, the way people feel pain is a personal thing. We know this to be inherently true just based on the fact that some people have higher pain thresholds than others.
Treatment Responses Differ
Medical science is well aware of the personal nature of pain perception. But there is another challenge: patient responses to treatment can also vary considerably. That is true of any type of medical treatment, by the way. It is not limited only to pain being treated via medical cannabis.
Zion Medicinal is a medical cannabis pharmacy located in Cedar City, UT. Is the only local pharmacy for residents of Cedar City and St. George. The majority of their patients use medical cannabis to manage pain. But not every patient buys the same product. Patients choose different products, different delivery methods, and even different doses.
Treating pain with medical cannabis is not an exact science because pain itself is so personal in nature. Until we find a way to nail down a scientific means for measuring pain – if that ever happens – any pain treatments we come up with will be subject to considerable variation. How pain is treated has no bearing on the matter.
