Smoking is harmful for your back. Although smoking is not the root cause of sore back, it is a significant risk factor associated with back pain. Refer the article to know more about smoking and back pain.
Back pain
Back pain is a familiar problem. It affects men and women, manual workers as well as white-collar workers. It can range from a dull and constant ache to a sudden and sharp pain that have a debilitating effect on your health.
One can experience back pain suddenly while lifting a heavy thing or from an accident or a fall. One can also develop it gradually over time due to age-related changes to the spine or due to smoking.
Smoking Causes Back pain
Smoking increases the risk of getting affected from low back pain with sciatica (back pain that spreads out to the hip and/or leg due to pressure on a nerve). Of late researchers have confirmed that smoking causes back pain. In fact, they have discovered that smokers are more likely to develop back pain than the non-smokers.
Why Smoking Causes Back pain
- Smoking can cause sore back either directly or indirectly. Smoking clogs up the arteries that impair the supple of blood and oxygen to the lower spine. This deteriorates the spinal disks.
- Smoking blocks the body’s ability in delivering nutrients to the discs of the lower back. With inadequate nutrition the tissues of the lower back gets damaged, which finally results in back aches.
- Nicotine from cigarettes affects the way the brain sends its pain signals.
- Heavy smoking leading to chronic coughing also causes back pain, indirectly.
- Smokers who are less physically fit than nonsmokers have more risk of developing back pain.
- Smoking which slows down the healing process, prolongs pain for people with back injuries, broken bones, or who have undergone back surgery.
Treatment
- Health experts advise to kick the habit of smoking. Giving up cigarettes may not give instant relief from the back pain. But, subsequently it will lower down sore back.
- A sensible and balanced diet protects you from developing sore back.
- Calcium and Vitamin D pills are quite effective in the treatment of back pain.
- Putting an extra pillow between your knees and then sleeping on your side relieves you from back pain.
- Core strengthening exercises helps a lot in case you are having back pain.
- Try to stretch out as frequently as possible. Stretching maintains the flexibility of your muscles.
- Always stand upright. Bad postures worsen sore back.
- Be cautious while lifting heavy items. You can divide the heavy load into smaller parts.
- Always opt for pushing than pulling because pushing is much easier on your back than pulling.
- Visit a doctor if the pain is severe and chronic.
Is it possible that a person without a history of back problems may get lower back pain-problems and high-tension muscle problem when quitting smoking after an almost 50 year friendship (addiction)? Is this a negative side effect that nobody talks about … in Norway anyway. They talk about weightgain but not about back pain. I have of course focused on not gaining weight since I began reducing my smoking from “heavy” to 2-4 per day, and have not put on any kg’s thanks to watching my intake and walking more. I was afraid of quitting from one day to another, due to unwanted weigth gain (I’m 63, fit, motivated and 10% beyond ideal weight, that’s ok when you are my age) … and I had also seen what weight gain-problems have done to members of family and friends when they stopped smoking from one day to another. High blood pressure, diabetes 2, problems with metabolism, depressions, irritations etc etc. – but no one have spoken about increased – or “new” back pains. I’ve been searching internet in Norway for answers, found none, and therefore I try your sight.
By the way; I will stop and take my last sigarette in a month or two, when I feel that I have given my metabolism a possibility to stabilize itself. Is my method “stupid” or smart? Feel it works for me, and I am determined to quit smoking – mainly because it is “difficult” to be a “happy smoker” anymore – wherever I go here or abroad – and it is of course unhealty … though this has not managed to scare and lme before (in spite of beeing well educated and informed)…but what got to me (esthetics..) was seeing “little old ladies” outside restaurants, airports etc. smoking desperately and realizing I would be one of them eventually if I did not stop smoking. And besides – living in Norway – It’s not very nice standing outside smoking when there’s minus a lot, snow and ice. I want to be free from this lifelong habit that I simply have loved!!! but it’s not very “healthy” either to feel like an invalid when I usually move around like a young person – and it’s tough to work in my studio painting with this “tired and painful” back. Takes some of the colours out of life. If beck-pain is a “normal” negative side effect, why don’t the focus on that too – because ending up fat and “invalid” – but non-smoking – takes a lot of pleasure out of life.
Yours …
Sissel Torp
smoking is a curse. we fooling our body into believing that its acceptable to destroy itself. i quit for two years and started for about a month now and noticed that im experiencing severe aches and pains even though my diet and supplement intake is perfect. i believe the body gives us warning signs and we need to take heed. good luck to all in this daily struggle i know through my own experience the battle we face. cheers
i agree smoking does cause back pain, i am 6’4 so suffer with the odd back problem anyway but i smoked since i was 14 years old, i am now 30 and finally quit smoking 5 months ago because it got to the stage where i just felt so unhealthy and had aches and pains all over especially in my back! sometimes i could not move i was in that much pain, but since i have quit all the aches have gone away and now feel healthy again, also your taste buds come back which is another bonus, smoking is a nasty habbit so why punish yourself any longer ?
and yes manual labour does cause back pain but smoking could also contribute and make it worse, but you will never know until you stop will you!
im 22 n i smoke 4 cigarretts a day n i ve started experiencing in my upper back right side .. its this due to smoking please reply
I quit for over 3 years and had no more back problems. Started again and have now torn a muscle in my lower back. I’m inclined to believe in tobacco related back problems by my own experience. I have been researching on the net re tobacco and health issues….car accidents, bowel disorders, eyes, its endless
Cannabis smoking related back problems seem non existent from what I have observed.
In defence of those who deny a link between tobacco and lower back problems, I’m sure youth and exercise, or hard physical work, would mitigate the effects of tobacco related back problems. However, overall I can categorically state that starting tobacco smoking again has made me tired, irritable and back injured.
Considering Cannabis is an effective pain killer then I wouldn’t be surprised people don’t complain of back problems. I smoked cannabis for 5 and a half years straight, i’ve now quit and radically changed my diet and I’m suffering no end of aches and pains in my chest, back and shoulders
I scoffed when I heard this too. First from my physical therapist. Again from the person diagnosing my MRI. Yet again from my back surgeon. I started at 17 here and there. 1/2 pack by 18. pack a day by 20 when I became a glazer (doing commercial glass systems, store fronts, and offices under 5 stories), then up to 2 packs during work days. Most of that was waste because of work, but still I smoked often. By the time I was 23 (now 26) I suffered a career ending disc injury, rupturing one, and slipping the one below it. Upon further inspection I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, and severe facet arthritis, all exceptionally uncommon under 35-40. A year later after 40 hour weeks of PT, epidural injections and a career change I was finally able to pick up my 9 mo old son for the first time in 8 mos. The link is there, it’s real, it’s undeniable, and there’s no coming back from it once YOU are the statistic.
I’ve been smoking for 7 years now, and I’ve been having lower back ache for about 4 years, but i was very ill and hospitalized recently and could not smoke, i noticed the back ache was gone for d 2 weeks i spent in the hospital. when i was fully recovered and back home i started smoking again, about a week ago and now the back ache is back. as of right now am quitting.