Smoking causes lumbar spondylosis. This was revealed in a study, which threw light on the link between smoking and lower back pain. Nicholas U.Ahn, Chief Resident, Orthopedic Surgeon at the John Hopkins University, as co- author of the study, is of the view that those with a smoking history were prone to lower back pain.
In another study, focus was on the fact that smokers were more likely to suffer from sore- backs. This applies to all, both men and women, manual laborers and white-collar workers. The study (2003) published in the January 2003 issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases states that smoking by itself was the cause for debilitating back pain by about 30 percent. Smoking also was also responsible for pain in the shoulder, elbows, hands, hips and knees.
Nicotine affects the brain processes of sensory stimuli and its pain signals. Smoking can damage tissue in the lower back and in other parts by reducing circulation. It also reduces the flow of nutrients to the muscles and joints. It is also possible that coughing and stooping to pick-up lost cigarettes may cause back pain. Smokers have good reason to give up smoking. After all, they would not like to suffer from back pain.
The back pain is often so severe that a person is unable to perform his daily chores. Tobacco smoking damages the musculosketal tissues as the blood supply to the tissues is reduced. It raises the risks of clots. Smoking causes malnutrition of the disc and makes it vulnerable to mechanical stress.
Smokers now need to think twice whether to smoke or not. Suffering from back pain can be quite awful, and smokers are at a risk. As it is, smoking is considered to be bad for health and back pain can be equally disturbing. These studies help us to understand that by quitting smoking, one reduces the risk of back pain.
