Ever since Chicago Bears legend Jim McMahon hung up his NFL jersey for the final time, he has been plagued with a long list of aches and pains leftover from his grueling football career.

But thanks to CBD, he feels better.

“CBD has helped me sleep better and eat better and just made my whole body feel better,” says the now 60-year-old.

McMahon’s interest in CBD also recently led to a budding friendship with Wilmette internist Dr. Chirag Patel, who met McMahon a few months ago at a charity function.

“CBD provided a different option for him, and yes, it’s an option that is working for him,” explains Dr. Patel, who is the senior managing partner at Hansa Medical Groupe. “And there is a chance it can work for others.”

In fact, from treating chronic pain to dealing with anxiety to handling memory issues, CBD has helped a number of Dr. Patel’s patients.

“The ideal patient would be that person who has tried multiple, conventional medications that they still haven’t had success with,” he says.

Dr. Patel’s senior demographic of patients are particularly interested in the benefits of CBD.

“They are hoping CBD will help treat their chronic ailments that they are dealing with, from arthritis to fibromyalgia,” he says. “They are tired of taking narcotics and other habit-forming medications to treat these ailments.”

However, Dr. Patel stresses that one must be extremely careful when it comes to adding CBD to their everyday health regimen.

“There are two possible negatives of CBD,” he says. “One is that it just simply won’t work for a patient. More importantly, the other is that CBD could interact with a medication they are already taking. As physicians, we have to use our expertise, learn more about CBD, and inform our patients about appropriate treatment plans.”

Hansa Medical Groupe has offices at 5250 Old Orchard Road, Suite 300, in Skokie, and in Chicago, 847-920-0902, hansamedicalgroupe.com.