Katowice, Poland: Patients with bruxism (teeth grinding or clenching) and other temporomandibular disorders experience improved sleep and fewer migraines following the topical application of CBD, according to data from a placebo-controlled clinical trial published in the journal Pharmaceuticals.
Polish investigators assessed the topical application of CBD-infused gel versus placebo in 60 patients with bruxism-associated muscle pain. Twenty patients received a placebo, 20 patients received a gel containing five percent CBD, and 20 patients received a gel containing 10 percent CBD. Participants administered the gels daily for 30 days.
Both CBD treatment groups “demonstrated statistically significant improvements in PSQI [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index] and MIDAS [the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale] scores compared to the control group.” Both treatment groups experienced similar improvements, regardless of CBD concentration. No serious adverse events or treatment-related complications were reported during the study period.
“This study demonstrates that topical application of cannabidiol (CBD) gel, at both five percent and 10 percent concentrations, significantly improves sleep quality and reduces migraine-related disability in patients with bruxism-associated muscular pain. These effects were observed alongside reductions in muscle tension and pain, suggesting a broader therapeutic impact of CBD beyond localized symptom relief,” the study’s authors concluded. “The findings support the use of topical CBD as a well-tolerated, non-invasive adjunct in the multimodal management of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), especially in patients experiencing comorbid sleep and headache disturbances.”
The transdermal delivery of CBD has previously been associated with reduced levels of lower back and leg pain in patients with spinal stenosis, as well as with improved outcomes in patients with hand osteoarthritis.
Full text of the study, “Expanding the therapeutic profile of topical cannabidiol in temporomandibular disorders: Effects of sleep quality and migraine disability in patients with bruxism-associated muscle pain,” appears in Pharmaceuticals.