Does Smoking Cause Low Back Pain?
As informed citizens of the world, we are all well-versed in the detrimental effect cigarette smoking has on one’s heart and lungs. What may come as a surprise to you, however, is that smoking can actually contribute to the onset and chronicity of lower back pain. So much so, that recovery from pain—even after surgery—may never be realized!
Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide which has the nasty habit of binding to the blood’s oxygen-carrying cells, blocking the body’s full uptake of oxygen molecules. This state of oxygen-deprivation—or, oxidative stress—prohibits the discs, joints, bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons in the spine from receiving all the oxygen necessary for the daily task of function, restoration, and regeneration.
Inhaled smoke also has a destructive effect on the supportive connective tissues in the body. (This can best be observed on the face of a smoker whose skin looks to be much older than the person who is wearing it!) Accelerated aging of connective tissue is caused, in part, by the load of free radicals introduced into the body via cigarette smoke. These oxygen-hungry characters ruthlessly steal oxygen molecules from healthy cell membranes, severely damaging the cells.
Additionally, cigarette smoking blocks the uptake of vitamin-C, an antioxidant whose job it would be to donate extra oxygen molecules to those nasty free radicals in order to keep them from attacking healthy cells.
Anatomical structures in the spine are supplied with nutrients (and emptied of waste products) via miniature blood vessels called capillaries. If smoking can block the larger vessels of the heart, just imagine the clogging effect it has on those narrower vessels!
Given all these detriments, it isn’t surprising that X-ray studies show the acceleration of degenerative changes within the smoker’s spine to be 4x that of non-smokers, this according to spine surgeon, Thomas Dowling, M.D. Furthermore, these adverse factors significantly lower the success rate of spine surgeries—so much so, many spine surgeons won’t even perform surgery on a smoker! The good news is the cessation of smoking for six weeks prior to spine surgery does improve surgical outcomes significantly.
So, if you, or someone you know, is battling low back pain or facing low back surgery, now’s the time to stamp out that life-sucking habit once and for all.