Chiropractor in Freehold NJ Shares Research Showing Smoking Increases Risk of Back Pain

There are many risks to smoking cigarettes and new research is showing it can also increase your risk of back pain.

95,000 nurses in one study showed those women that smoked were three times more likely to develop Psoriatic arthritis.  This form of arthritis is inflammatory in nature and can cause lower back pain and sacral pain.  Even those smokers that quit were 1.5 times more likely to develop psoriatic arthritis, and the highest risk were women that smokes for over 25 years.  It is believed smoking increases the risk of psoriatic arthritis because smoking can induce oxidative stress which causes inflammation and also damages the immune system.

Another new study shows smokers had a higher incidence of inflammatory back pain at a younger age.  Patients who smoke overall have more disease and illness, worse body function, and a much lower quality of life.  Research of smokers shows MRI scans revealed more structural lesions on their spines and sacroiliac joints than non smokers.  Since smokers have more severe symptoms, they tend to have more absenteeism from work than non smokers.  This is another reason to add for smokers to quit immediately, especially if you are experiencing back pain with inflammation.

Other research on smoking has shown correlation to increase in sciatica and other chronic pain conditions.

Our chiropractic office, Hometown Family Wellness Center, located in Freehold, NJ has been highly successful in helping patients with back pain, sciatica and many forms of arthritis.  While addressing the cause of the back pain, we also help support our patients in making healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the risks of  pain and improving your overall health without the use of drugs or surgery.  Smoking is a difficult, addictive habit to quit and we have including biofeedback stress reduction therapy in our office to help patients end their addictive habits.  To find out more about our office click here:  www.ChiropractorFreehold.com

 References

Chung HY, Machado P, Heijde D, et al. Smokers in early axial spondyloarthritis have earlier disease onset, more disease activity, inflammation and damage, and poorer function and health-related quality of life: results from the DESIR cohort. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2012;71:809-816. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200180.

Li W, Han J, Qureshi A. Smoking and risk of incident psoriatic arthritis in US women. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2012;71:804-808. doi 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200416.

Walsh, Nancy. Smoking Tied to Back Pain, Arthritis. Medpage Today. May 18,2012. Accessed May 24, 2012. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/32763.