The current situation of the legalization of cannabis worldwide has been an important incentive behind the research effort on the bodily effects of cannabis. The turn to study its effects on the body’s movement has come. Does cannabis affect our walking gait?
Much research about the bodily effects of cannabis is currently available and constantly being updated with newer findings. The current situation of the legalization of recreational and medical cannabis has been an important incentive behind the research effort. How phytocannabinoids affect the human body, and their interaction with our endocannabinoid system have become an important subject of study.
And now the time has come to look at an aspect that hasn’t yet been researched much. Does cannabis affect our walking gait and our balance? A study by an Australian university reveals its findings in this area.
Will you recognize them by their walking gait?
It seems that the way in which cannabis use might affect certain parts of our psychomotor system – and consequently our balance and our gait – hasn’t been studied much so far. To address this, a group of Australian researchers published a study in the September 2017 issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence magazine that analyses the relationship between cannabis use and people’s walking gait after consumption.
It has already been proven that cannabinoid receptors are located in the brain regions involved directly in the control of movement, more precisely in the basal ganglia, cerebral cortex and cerebellum. In addition, the regular use of cannabis has been related to structural and functional changes at the cerebral level.
For this reason, the main objective of this research team has been to investigate the effects of cannabis on regular cannabis users, in addition to studying how it affects the capacity to maintain balance and walking gait.
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Study methodology
To conduct this study, a total of 44 individuals – between the ages of 20 and 30 – were divided into two groups of 22 subjects. The first group consisted of individuals who didn’t have any history of illegal drug use, while the second group was comprised of individuals who had tried marijuana before, but no other substances.
The 44 members of the sample underwent a series of tests in order to analyse the effects of cannabinoids on the locomotor system. First they were screened to confirm the presence of cannabis, then they were given a walking gait and balance test (using a motion-capture system and a clinical neurological examination of movement for each subject).
Conclusions
After studying the behaviour of the participating users and non-users of cannabis when moving, researchers soon came to several conclusions. On the one hand, the behaviours they encountered confirmed some data they already had, and on the other, they provided some information unknown to them until then.
According to the study there were hardly any differences between the two groups with respect to walking speed, balance and neurological parameters while walking.
However, it seems that cannabis affects regular users when walking in the following ways:
- They have a greater and faster knee movement; cannabis users’ knees were 7% faster than those of non-users during the distance walked.
- They tend to move their shoulders less; their shoulders posture is less flexible and more rigid.
The findings of this research – which contradict the results of previous studies – conclude that although cannabis use is associated with subtle changes in certain aspects of a person’s motor skills, they are so minimal that they are almost imperceptible at the clinical level.
In the words of Verity Pearson-Dennett, one of the study’s authors, “the changes in walking were small enough that a neurologist specializing in movement disorders was not able to detect changes in all of the cannabis users”.
What previous research had proven
In 2006, a study published in Neuropsycopharmacology concluded that the use of cannabis with high THC content (13%) causes deterioration of the executive function and the inhibitory motor control. It appears that the deficiencies exhibited by cannabis users over six hours after consumption, such as changes in balance, were more pronounced during the first two hours.
After the following four, the effects became less noticeable. Nonetheless, controlled studies with lower THC doses were recommended for more reliable results.
Two years later, in 2008, another study observed that there was a clear change in the corporeal stability and balance of the subjects when high THC doses were given to them.
These studies seem to indicate that there’s a relationship between taking a considerable dose of cannabis and frequent use with the appearance of variations in movement. However, it should be noted that the 2006 sample was only comprised of 20 people between ages 19 and 29 (fourteen men and six women).
Reservations about the findings
Due to the small size of the study we are presently dealing with, as well as the ones mentioned before, we cannot forget that there is a high margin of error regarding the conclusions reached. The researchers themselves acknowledge the need for more (and larger) studies to determine which processes and to what extent cannabis affects body movement. It’s clear that there are still a few issues to be addressed.
“Further research is required to investigate if the subtle gait changes observed in this population become more apparent with aging and increased cannabis use”, the study states.
Let’s not forget that science is not perfect either, and not always right at first. For this reason, the limitations of a study help experts know what to do more of in further research.
- Disclaimer:This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your doctor or other licensed medical professional. Do not delay seeking medical advice or disregard medical advice due to something you have read on this website.
Cannabis partially affect our walking style, according to me cannabis increases the walking speed and to some people it even change their style e. g bouncing
Good morning Peter,
I hope you’re having a great day,
Yes, you are correct. Cannabis effects everyone differently, and this is because of our endocannabinoid system.
Normally, an sativa keeps me motivated and an indica keeps me sedated – however, it can be different for someone else.
Fortunately, we have an article explaining more here!
Thanks again, and I hope you continue to enjoy the blog,
Mark
I am an 80 year old infrequent user of cannabis. However, I have spinal stenosis in my lower spine which prevents me from using proper race walking technique. Indeed, the stenosis resulted from a race walking injury while winning a national USA age-graded championship 8 years ago.
But when I smoke cannabis it allows me to race walk properly with hyperextended legs. Continued use like on the same day however fails to reduce the pain I normally experience trying to use proper hyper-extended-leg racewalk technique.