Those with benign fasciculation syndrome or bothersome twitching muscles are wanting to know if cannabis can reduce or outright stop these benign twitching episodes.
Unfortunately, there has not been any research into whether or not cannabis can stop muscles from twitching – whether the fasciculations are an idiopathic outcome of BFS, or whether they have some other benign cause such as exercise, anxiety or mineral depletion.
However, it’s not a far leap to speculate that cannabis actually can simmer down or even stop the muscle twitching from BFS or just run-of-the-mill fasciculations that we all have from time to time.
This is because cannabis has been shown to relieve the muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis.
A study out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, involved 30 subjects with MS who were not responding with more conventional treatments.
One group was randomly assigned to smoke pot, while the other group was given a placebo.
There is a spasticity test called the Ashworth scale. The lower the score, the less the spasticity.
The cannabis group averaged a one-third reduction in the Ashworth score.
The report, published in the May 14, 2012 Canadian Medical Association Journal, also points out that the cannabis group performed worse on a cognitive test than did the placebo group.
The American Academy of Neurology acknowledges that cannabis can ease the MS symptom of muscle spasms.
However, the American Academy of Neurology also states that there’s not enough evidence to promote cannabis as an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis.
If you don’t have multiple sclerosis and instead have BFS or typical muscle twitching from hard workouts, stress, etc., it’s fair to wonder if cannabis can be effective at putting a damper on twitching muscles – be they in the calves, feet, legs or fingers.
Keep in mind that the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis are absolutely NOT the same as the benign fasciculations that millions of people experience every day.
It’s also not likely that a physician will prescribe marijuana to a patient who complains of a twitching eyelid after many hours staring at a computer screen, or twitching hamstring muscles after hard hiking.
