The cannabis component CBD “supports post-exercise recovery” for athletes “but does not directly enhance performance,” according to a new scientific review.
Cannabidiol “demonstrates efficacy in modulating delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and lowering concentrations of muscle damage markers (creatine kinase and myoglobin), particularly within the 48-72 hour window following intensive exercise,” the paper, published in the International Medical Journal, found.
Polish researchers with the 4th Military Clinical Hospital and the University Clinical Hospital performed a search of the PubMed and Scopus databases for previous studies published between 2021 and 2026.
They said that although it was a “key turning point” when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) moved in 2017 to officially allow athletes to begin using CBD without fear of being suspended from competition, many products on the market today are mislabeled and may contain THC—creating “a real risk of inadvertent anti-doping rule violations for athletes.”
CBD itself, meanwhile, is “a safe substance with a low risk of inducing side effects that could impair athlete comfort,” the review said.
While CBD doesn’t have a “statistically significant impact on improving performance in endurance tests, such as time trials, maximal power output, or running economy,” the authors wrote, it has been shown to improve
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