Smoking and Back Pain
Join the Great American Smokeout
Along with many other health issues including cancer, smoking has also been proven to cause lower back pain. Smoking reduces the amount of well-oxygenated blood that reaches the organs, which can restrict blood flow to the tissues in and around your spine. This restricted blood flow slows down the healing process of anyone suffering from back pain. Because of the restriction of blood flow to the tissues in and around your spine, smokers are more likely to suffer from back pain than nonsmokers.
Smoking can Cause Back Pain
One study examined over 1,300 physicians who graduated from Johns Hopkins University and followed their health histories for more than 50 years. The study gave significant evidence that the development of lower back pain in participants was caused by a history of smoking.
Researchers have long suggested that there is a direct correlation between smoking and lower back pain. Until the completion of this study, the exact nature of that link had remained largely untested over the long term. As Nicholas U. Ahn, Chief Resident in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and co-author of the study, explains: "Because we had the subjects' medical records and answers from self-reported questionnaires over such a long period of time … we were able to determine if the risk factors, such as smoking or high cholesterol, preceded the development of the disease years later."
Quitting May Be Your First Step to Finding Relief
Each year, the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout challenges smokers to give up smoking once and for all. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) suggests strategies for quitting, such as :
- set a Quit Date, such as the Great American Smokeout on November 20
- make a serious commitment to quitting
- refer to your success in the present tense: "I am a non-smoker"
- get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays around your home and in your car
- don't let people smoke in your home
- ask for support from family and friends and/or consider joining a support group
- distract yourself from the desire to smoke by getting active (exercising, walking or cleaning the house) or by relaxing (taking a bath, watching a movie or meditating)
Lower Back Pain Treatment in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Give up smoking once and for all and help say goodbye to chronic lower back pain. The medical professionals at Busch Chiropractic whole-heartedly support this day of education and encouragement to help people quit smoking, particularly those individuals suffering from chronic lower back pain. Busch Chiropractic works with each of our patients to not only achieve back pain relief, but also to enjoy optimum health and wellness. Consider November 20th and the Great American Smokeout an invitation to add "non-smoker" to the list of steps you have taken toward a healthy, pain-free lifestyle. Dr. Busch and all of our team will support you every step of the way.
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