A Curious Change at The Vaz Clinic

Recently, while talking with colleagues about muscle and joint pain, I realized something at The Vaz Clinic seemed to have changed. I had the impression that fewer people were coming in with certain complaints, and that I was performing fewer joint injections than I used to. Was that a real shift, or just an impression? I turned to our records. The decrease in recorded diagnoses was larger than I expected.

I compared January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020 with January 1, 2024 to January 1, 2025. Recorded diagnoses of myalgia (muscle pain) fell by 49%. Costochondritis (pain where the cartilage meet the ribs) fell by 42%, and bursitis (inflammation of the small, fluid-filled cushions near joints) fell by 55%. The bursitis figures include shoulder, elbow, and hip diagnoses.

The timing is very interesting. Around 2021, between those two periods, I began using hemp-derived CBD topicals with some patients and offering them at the clinic. Since then, many patients have told me they use the products at home to manage discomfort and feel they need fewer appointments. Some appreciate having this option alongside approaches they have used before, including NSAIDs. Could at-home use be one reason I’m seeing this change?

I think of a woman who came to see me after living for years with chest pain. She feared a heart problem and an expensive procedure. During her evaluation, I found tenderness on the left side of her chest and determined that she had costochondritis. With her permission, I applied a topical I had formulated. A few minutes later, she spontaneously stopped our conversation and asked, visibly surprised, “What was that you put on me?” She told me her pain had eased and then gone away. In fact, her pain never came back since that visit. Her experience stayed with me. Chest pain always deserves proper medical evaluation, and I am glad we found an approach that eased her discomfort.

The records show a decline, but they alone cannot tell me why it happened. Changes in patient needs, where people seek care, or how diagnoses are recorded may also have contributed. As a result, over the next year, I hope to conduct an observational study to explore whether at-home use of hemp-derived CBD products is associated with fewer visits or procedures, and by how much. I would be glad to share what we learn with fellow medical professionals and the public.

Garth O. Vaz, MD, is a practicing family physician and founder of The Vaz Clinic in Gonzales, Texas. He is also the founder of Jammin Canna, LLC, a company dedicated to producing third-party, lab-tested, physician-formulated CBD products for health. Dr. Vaz is eager to share his knowledge with his colleagues and invites all to reach out to him if they have any questions.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.