Taking medical cannabis for movement disorders is a choice many UK patients who have been dissatisfied with frontline treatments are making, since cannabis became legal on prescription in 2018. Movement disorder is an umbrella term for a variety of nervous system conditions that cause abnormal, involuntary or reduced body movements. They are generally split into two main groups: hyperkinetic (excessive movement, including tremors, dystonia, chorea, and tics) and hypokinetic (Parkinsonism and akinesia).
9 of 12
patients with dystonia reported improved sleep after taking cannabinoids.
26mg
of CBD given daily for 12 weeks improved cognitive naming scores in PD patients.
Up to 40%
of PD patients in the US take (or have taken) cannabis for their movement disorder symptoms.
10.46%
Movement disorders account for 10.46% of all neurological diagnoses in the UK.
Symptoms
Disjointed or jerky movements
Fatigue
Issues with coordination
Poor balance
Poor mental health
Tremors or tics
If you are suffering from any of these symptoms. Please speak with your GP to find out more.
Treatment options:
Because there are a vast range of movement disorders, there are also a variety of treatment options conventionally recommended by the NHS used to manage movement disorder symptoms. This can include occupational, physical or speech therapies, and different kinds of prescribed medications such as anti-muscarinic drugs, monoamine depleting drugs and antipsychotics.
Orphenadrine hydrochloride
Procyclidine hydrochloride
Promazine hydrochloride
Tetrabenazine
Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride
Whether you’re new to cannabis-based medicines, switching from another medical cannabis clinic, or self-medicating, we’ll put you back in control of your health.
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"Movement disorders, including tremors and involuntary movements, often disrupt daily activities. Medicinal cannabis, through its effects on the endocannabinoid system, may help manage these symptoms by improving muscle control and reducing spasms."
Dr Michal Modestowicz
Neurology
12. 04. 2024
Every hour, another two people in the UK are diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and while there is still no cure for the disease, there are treatments available to manage common Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremors, sleeping concerns, pain, and mental health concerns.
12. 04. 2024
12. 07. 2023
Every single hour, two people in the UK are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the world’s fastest growing neurological condition that currently has no cure. With an estimated 8.5 million people facing this incurable diagnosis across the world, increasing numbers of Parkinson’s patients are turning to medicinal cannabis to help potentially manage tremors and rigidity, relieve the symptoms of anxiety that can go hand in hand with the diagnosis, and improve their sleep quality.
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09. 08. 2023
Typically administered to manage symptoms of anxiety and depression, or to relieve pain and improve sleep, evidence suggests medical cannabis, and in particular CBD oil, could also potentially aid 10 million people around the world living with Parkinson’s Disease.
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Medications such as levodopa, pramipexole and rasagiline are often prescribed in the first instance to manage movement disorder symptoms; however, medical cannabis is a new treatment available to patients who have already tried two or more drugs or therapies.
Although medical cannabis may not treat movement disorders themselves, it could potentially help people live more comfortably with some of the most debilitating symptoms.
Medical cannabis can be prescribed to treat the symptoms of movement disorders, provided there are no contraindications (assessed by expert clinicians), and at least two frontline treatments have already been tried.
Medical cannabis can be prescribed for dystonia, and cannabis can also be taken for essential tremor. However, research into cannabinoids such as CBD for movement disorders is still in the early stages.
A movement disorder is a neurological condition often caused by damage or communication disruptions in the basal ganglia (deep brain structures). Common symptoms affect the speed, fluency, quality and ease of body movements.
The basal ganglia act as the body's movement control centre, so changes to this region can impact how the brain plans and executes movements, often resulting in slowness or stiffness; rhythmic, involuntary shaking; sustained muscle contractions; jerky movements; vocal and physical tics and difficulty with balance and fine motor skills.
Parkinson's disease falls under the category of movement disorders, as does Huntington's disease, Tourette syndrome, restless leg syndrome, dystonia and essential tremor, among other conditions.
Medical cannabis may help with movement disorder symptoms due to its unique interaction with the endocannabinoid system, a body-wide network of receptors and neurotransmitters (endocannabinoids) which help to maintain and regain balance in all bodily functions.
The ECS is strongly tied to motor function and dysfunction, so clinical research into cannabinoids for movement disorders, to treat symptoms such as pain, tremors and muscle stiffness, has been of great interest. However, clinical and preclinical data thus far are inconclusive.
Some studies indicate promising potential for certain movement disorders when treated with cannabinoids. One open-label study found that five patients with dystonic movement disorders displayed 20 to 50% improvement of dystonic symptoms when treated with CBD for 6 weeks. However, in the same study, two patients who also had Parkinson's disease noticed an increase in resting tremors with higher doses of CBD.
Other clinical studies have found CBD to be more effective on movement disorders when combined with THC. Together, this was seen to be effective in treating spasticity in MS, a condition which can include various movement disorders such as restless leg syndrome, tremors, ataxia and parkinsonism. You can read more about medical cannabis for multiple sclerosis and spasticity on our dedicated pages.
Some preclinical evidence suggests cannabis may have anti-tremor potential, but a lot more research is needed to establish whether or not this is the case. Numerous studies have found cannabinoids do not reduce motor symptoms, but can improve co-occurring anxiety and sleep issues.
Medical cannabis for Parkinson's disease has made headlines over the years, and there are some promising studies out there to support anecdotal evidence. However, large, placebo-controlled, randomised studies of medical cannabis use in patients with Parkinson's disease are still required.
One retrospective chart review published in 2023 found that 87% of Parkinson's disease patients given medical cannabis showed improvement in various symptoms, including cramping/dystonia, pain, spasticity, lack of appetite, dyskinesia, and tremor. A further benefit was also noted: 56% who previously took opioid medications before starting medical cannabis were able to decrease their opioid dose, or discontinue use entirely.
A study looking at the safety and tolerability of CBD in Parkinson disease, where CBD was titrated from 5 to 25mg per kilogram of weight in the participant per day for 15 days, found that 10 out of 13 participants had improvement in total and motor Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale scores. Sleep and emotional scores also improved significantly. Three of the 13 participants dropped out of the study because they couldn't tolerate the cannabis-based medicine, and five had raised liver enzymes at the higher dose.
Results on medical cannabis for dystonia and tremor are, again, quite mixed and therefore inconclusive. Some small observational studies show improvements in dystonia symptoms, such as muscle pain, after taking medical cannabis. But other clinical data show no significant reduction in shaking or rhythmic muscle contractions.
A pilot investigation looking at cannabinoid use in the treatment of laryngeal dystonia and vocal tremor found patient experience of symptom reduction to be split, with 42.4% of patients reporting some effectiveness for treating voice strain and anxiety, while 45.9% of participants found cannabinoid treatment ineffective.
Aside from direct symptoms, medical cannabis has been found to offer relief for some associated non-motor symptoms of dystonia, including insomnia, anxiety and muscle pain.
While some studies have concluded that cannabinoids found in medical cannabis for movement disorders show no improvement in the most common symptoms, others suggest cannabinoids may be helpful for motor symptoms, particularly vocal and motor tics. A retrospective, long-term follow-up study exploring the use of medical cannabis for Tourette syndrome drew conclusions based on 25 patients over 9 years. The results showed that medical cannabis was reported to reduce tics by an average of 75%.
So far, the use of cannabinoid treatment for drug-induced movement disorders and as akathisia treatment lacks strong scientific support.
CBD and THC are both cannabis-derived cannabinoids. THC is intoxicating at higher doses, and primarily interacts with CB1 receptors in the brain. CBD is non-intoxicating and does not bind strongly to either CB1 or CB2 receptors. Instead, it influences how the endocannabinoid system behaves, and is best known for having anti-inflammatory properties.
Research suggests that the best results often come from taking CBD and THC together. Each has unique, multi-mechanism actions, and when combined, CBD may reduce the unwanted side effects of THC while THC may enhance the therapeutic effects of CBD.
CBD has been shown to potentially reduce involuntary muscle contractions in movement disorders, although evidence remains limited mostly to observational and pilot data. Cannabis containing THC has been found under clinical observation to improve dystonia symptoms during 30 months of taking cannabis.
Medical cannabis is not suitable for everyone, particularly those with a history of certain mental health conditions. Cannabis can also interact with some medications and result in serious side effects. For these reasons, it's best to take cannabis under close clinical guidance, following expert clinician advice on dosage.
Find out more about how Releaf works, or see if you could be eligible for a prescription for movement disorders by filling out our medical cannabis eligibility checker.
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