Does Smoking Cause Low Back Pain?

Does Smoking Cause Low Back Pain?

By now (I hope) we are all well-versed in the detrimental effects that cigarette smoking has on the heart and lungs. But it may come as a surprise to you 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 binds to the blood’s oxygen carrying sites, blocking the full uptake of oxygen into the body. This prohibits the discs, joints, bones, and muscles in the spine from receiving all the oxygen necessary for the daily task of restoration and regeneration.

Inhaled smoke also has a destructive effect on the connective tissues in the body, which is best observed in the face of a smoker whose skin looks to be much older than its person. (This is thanks, in part, to the free radicals produced which steal oxygen molecules from healthy cells.) Additionally, smoking blocks the uptake of vitamin C, an antioxidant whose job it is to fight against those nasty free radicals.

Every structure within your back is 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 this, it isn’t surprising that X-ray studies show the acceleration of degenerative changes within the smoker’s spine is four times that of non-smokers, according to spine surgeon, Dr. Thomas Dowling.

Sadly, all of these factors even work together to significantly lower the success rate of spine surgeries—so much so that many spine surgeons won’t even perform surgery on a smoker! The good news is that cessation of smoking for six weeks prior to spine surgery improves surgical outcomes significantly. So if you, or someone you know, are battling low back pain, now is the time to stamp out that habit once and for all!