The myriad health conditions and complications associated with smoking should convince even the most avid smoker that the habit is just not worth the risks. Some of the health risks, such as cancer and heart disease, may seem remote because they tend to develop in older adults. Especially for teens and young adults, health problems that may develop later in life are easier to ignore. Pain, however, is hard to ignore. Smoking is directly linked to chronic, sometimes disabling, pain that can start early and last a lifetime.
Musculoskeletal Pain
In one study, which appeared in the "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health," and included 6,681 individuals in Norway between the ages of 16 and 66, concluded that smoking was significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain. The subjects experienced cervical, upper-limb and back pain. The authors of the study made their conclusions after adjusting for age, gender, comorbidity, lifestyle, mental health and occupations.
Back Pain from Plaque Buildup
Smoking is a major risk factor for lower back pain. Smoking causes plaque to build up in your blood vessels, which blocks the supply from reaching them, especially small blood vessels. As blood, and thus nutrients, fail to reach the small blood vessels of the spinal bones and discs, degenerative back disease develops along with resulting chronic back pain.
Back Pain from Bone Loss
Smoking inhibits the bones from regenerating and building bone mass. Even children and young adults who do not smoke, but are exposed to secondhand smoke, can exhibit decreased bone mass. Decreased bone mass can result in osteoporosis, and consequently risk of fractures. Upon fracturing bones, smokers heal more slowly and experience more complications than nonsmokers. When the bone loss occurs in the spinal bones, chronic back pain results.
Stomach Ulcers
Smoking stimulates acid production in your stomach. The acid irritates the lining of the stomach and can cause painful ulcers and gastrointestinal discomfort. In addition to causing ulcers to develop, smoking constricts blood vessels and causes plaque buildup. This restricts blood supply from reaching the intestinal and stomach lining and limits the body's ability to heal the ulcers.
Wound Healing
As blood flow to skin decreases, healing of wounds to the skin also decrease. A simple cut or burn can become a painful reminder of why you should quit smoking. A simple wound that causes little concern in a nonsmoker can transform into a serious injury in a smoker. The long healing period exposes the wound to infection and complications, as well as lengthening the time of pain recovery.
Pain Response
Smoking appears to affect the body's neurological response to pain. Although smoking is linked to lowered pain tolerance, the reason for this reaction remains unclear. Smoking may interfere with hormones that control pain. The smoker's body processes the pain stimuli differently than the nonsmoker's body and thus causes the smoker to feel greater pain at lower levels of infliction.
References
- Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health: Musculoskeletal pain and smoking in Norway.
- Discovery Health: Smoking and Back Pain
- The Pain Clinic: Stop Smoking
- NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center: Smoking and Bone Health
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Smoking and musculoskeletal disorders: findings from a
