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June 22 (UPI) -- Research into alternative pain management solutions, including the marijuana compound cannabidiol, will be the focus for studies commissioned for $526,525 by the NFL and players' union, they said Thursday. The league and NFL Players Association said researchers from the American Society of Pain and Neeroscience and Emory University will conduct the studies. Professional athletes -- outside of the NFL -- will participate.
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"We are always seeking new knowledge, techniques and tools to ensure that NFL athletes are treated with the best possible care," NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said in a news release.
"We are proud to lead the way on investigating how the use of CBD and other alternative measures could positively impact pain management for players. As within the broader scope of player health and safety, we want to ensure every treatment at our disposal clears the appropriate medical standard for wider use."
The studies, funded by two grants, will explore the effects of CBD and non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation on alleviating concussion symptoms and determine the impact of "mindfulness-based intervention" in sports medicine injuries.
Last year, the NFL awarded $1 million to researchers at the University of California-San Diego, and University of Regina in Canada. The NFL said those studies focused on the effects of CBD on general pain recovery and "neuroprotection methods that may reduce the use of prescription medication."
The NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee chose the research groups in both rounds of funding.
This year, one accepted proposal was for a "Pilot Study Assessing Non-Invasive Treatment of Refractory Post-Concussion Headache Pain," led by Dr. Erika Petersen and American Society of Pain and Neuroscience researchers.
"New treatment avenues, such as cannabinoids and non-drug options, such as non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation, have shown promise as a potential alternative to opioid-based treatments in their effects on the inflammatory responses to concussion," the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience said.
That randomized study will compare vagal nerve stimulation and CBD effects in contact-sport athletes who experience post-traumatic headache to current standards of care.
The other study, titled "Implementing and Evaluating the Effect of Personalized Pain Coaches After Orthopaedic Surgery for Patients Who Sustain Sports Medicine Injuries to Improve Postoperative Outcomes," is led by Drs. Nicholas Giordano and Mara Schenker at Emory University.
That clinical trial will explore how mindfulness-based intervention, taking place prior to orthopedic surgery for those who sustain sports medicine injuries, impacts "post-operative recovery" in relation to "patient-reported pain outcomes, opioid utilization and objective functional outcomes."
Instructors also will educate participants about how to implement mindfulness practices into their routines. Researches then will compare benefits from that intervention to standard care instructions for those managing pain after surgery.
The mindfulness exercises will include "intentional awareness of present-moment thoughts, emotions, sensations and more, promoting calmness and improving physical and behavioral outcomes."
"The pain management committee is thrilled that the NFL and NFLPA are funding rigorous studies on multiple treatment modalities to improve the treatment of pain," said Dr. Kevin Hill, co-chair of the NFL-NFLPA committee.
"It is our hope that these studies will help the players manage the pain that may be a part of professional football."
The NFL said the studies will have "no impact" on the league's policy on substance abuse. The league said in February said 149 concussions occurred during the 2022-23 regular season, up from 126 in 2021-22.
An average of 130 reported concussions were sustained between the 2018 and 2020 campaigns.
