Promising research is showing a new possibility in pain relief for people recovering from surgery and for those suffering from fibromyalgia. Scientists from the University of Arizona reported to SciTechDaily that the terpenes derived from a sativa strain of Cannabis can relieve chronic pain more effectively than opioids. The kicker is that while these terpenes are from marijuana, they can be used and experienced without tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound within the plant.
“Our research is showing that terpenes are not a good option for reducing acute pain resulting from an injury, such as stubbing your toe or touching a hot stove; however, we are seeing significant reductions in pain when terpenes are used for chronic or pathological pain,” said Dr. John Streicher of the University of Arizona’s Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction. “This study was the first to investigate the impact of terpenes in preclinical models of fibromyalgia and post-operative pain and expand the scope of potential pain-relieving treatments using terpenes.”
Fibromyalgia is a disease that impacts 2% to 3% of the population in the United States. It causes chronic musculoskeletal pain that often interferes with a person’s day-to-day life. While cannabis is often prescribed for people with fibromyalgia as a pain reliever, further research into these terpenes could give patients the pain relief benefits without the high that comes with consumption.
“With fibromyalgia, there isn’t much understanding of what the pain state is, and there are not a lot of great options for treating it,” said Streicher. “Our findings show that terpenes may be a viable treatment option for fibromyalgia pain, which could potentially have a large impact and make a difference for an under-treated population.”
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Regarding basic chronic pain relief, this discovery could help curb opioid addiction in America by offering a less addictive and dangerous pain relief option. Opioids are typically prescribed to help relieve pain after certain surgical procedures, however there is a push to find alternatives given to the addictive properties and potency of those drugs. According to the Center for Disease Control, out of the 108,000 people who died from a drug overdose in 2022, 76% of them overdosed on opioids.
While a person suffering from chronic pain should consult their doctor before pursuing a method for treating their pain, there are some non-pharmacological options suggested by Stanford University, Harvard Medical School, and the National Health Service of the U.K. Low-impact exercise such as walking, swimming, stretching, or yoga has been found to help relieve pain through physical activity. Talk therapy and possibly hypnosis by vetted, accredited therapists can also help mentally manage pain. Regularly participating in meditation has been shown to assist in pain management as well.
Again, it is important to consult a doctor before attempting any pain management treatment or routine to ensure the best results without incurring further harm. With this scientific discovery, the hope is that more options and safer options for pain relief can become more available so that everyone can enjoy their lives without feeling encumbered.
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Will your current friends still be with you after seven years?
Professor shares how many years a friendship must last before it'll become lifelong
Think of your best friend. How long have you known them? Growing up, children make friends and say they’ll be best friends forever. That’s where “BFF” came from, for crying out loud. But is the concept of the lifelong friend real? If so, how many years of friendship will have to bloom before a friendship goes the distance? Well, a Dutch study may have the answer to that last question.
Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst and his team in the Netherlands did extensive research on friendships and made some interesting findings in his surveys and studies. Mollenhorst found that over half of your friendships will “shed” within seven years. However, the relationships that go past the seven-year mark tend to last. This led to the prevailing theory that most friendships lasting more than seven years would endure throughout a person’s lifetime.
In Mollenhorst’s findings, lifelong friendships seem to come down to one thing: reciprocal effort. The primary reason so many friendships form and fade within seven-year cycles has much to do with a person’s ages and life stages. A lot of people lose touch with elementary and high school friends because so many leave home to attend college. Work friends change when someone gets promoted or finds a better job in a different state. Some friends get married and have children, reducing one-on-one time together, and thus a friendship fades. It’s easy to lose friends, but naturally harder to keep them when you’re no longer in proximity.
Some people on Reddit even wonder if lifelong friendships are actually real or just a romanticized thought nowadays. However, older commenters showed that lifelong friendship is still possible:
“I met my friend on the first day of kindergarten. Maybe not the very first day, but within the first week. We were texting each other stupid memes just yesterday. This year we’ll both celebrate our 58th birthdays.”
“My oldest friend and I met when she was just 5 and I was 9. Next-door neighbors. We're now both over 60 and still talk weekly and visit at least twice a year.”
“I’m 55. I’ve just spent a weekend with friends I met 24 and 32 years ago respectively. I’m also still in touch with my penpal in the States. I was 15 when we started writing to each other.”
“My friends (3 of them) go back to my college days in my 20’s that I still talk to a minimum of once a week. I'm in my early 60s now.”
“We ebb and flow. Sometimes many years will pass as we go through different things and phases. Nobody gets buttsore if we aren’t in touch all the time. In our 50s we don’t try and argue or be petty like we did before. But I love them. I don’t need a weekly lunch to know that. I could make a call right now if I needed something. Same with them.”
Maintaining a friendship for life is never guaranteed, but there are ways, psychotherapists say, that can make a friendship last. It’s not easy, but for a friendship to last, both participants need to make room for patience and place greater weight on their similarities than on the differences that may develop over time. Along with that, it’s helpful to be tolerant of large distances and gaps of time between visits, too. It’s not easy, and it requires both people involved to be equally invested to keep the friendship alive and from becoming stagnant.
As tough as it sounds, it is still possible. You may be a fortunate person who can name several friends you’ve kept for over seven years or over seventy years. But if you’re not, every new friendship you make has the same chance and potential of being lifelong.