Quit smoking now! (Back pain and smoking)

In the recent years, researchers discovered amazing connection between smoking and back pain. According to the research, smokers are far more prone to back pain than non-smokers. The trend applies both for men and women.

British researchers surveyed around 13.000 people about their lifestyle, including their smoking habits, occupation, level of activity and pain history. After isolating work stress and other factors that can cause back pain, the researchers concluded that smoking - individually - increased the risk of back pain occurrence for 30%. Smoking also makes people more vulnerable to neck pain, pain in the shoulders, elbows, arms, hips and knees. 

"Cigarettes affect the way the brain sends the pain signals. Smoking can also damage the tissue located in the  lower back or some other part of the body by slowing the blood circulation and reducing the flow of nutrients in the joints and muscles."

Fortunately, most back pain disappear within few days. But some back pain can last for several weeks and lead to much more serious condition.

* Acute or short-term lower back pain usually last from a few days to a few weeks. Most of the acute pain  are mechanical.

* Chronic pain in the lower back are measured by duration - the pain that lasts longer than three months is considered chronic. 

* Quitting smoking probably won`t eliminate the back pain immediately, but it sure helps a lot. Of course, quitting smoking will significantly reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer and many other diseases.

Everything you need to know about back pain

The general term used for back pain is lumbago. The basic causes for back pain can be very complex and they differ in each person. Before you start detecting the causes of your back pain, the type of back pain and  appropriate treatment, you must learn some of the basic principles of lumbago.

The pain not always corresponds to the damage

Very often, the intensity of the pain in the lower part of the back does not match the actual physical damage. For example, a simple muscle pull in the back can cause a lot of pain and because of that you can`t walk or even stand and in other examples discus hernia can be painless and unnoticeable.

Diagnosis is very hard when back pain is in question. In this area of the back there are many anatomical structures that can cause heavy pain if they are damaged: soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons), bones, cartilage, nerves etc. All these segments are connected and form the complex structure of the spine. Sometimes the brain can`t recognize which part exactly is damaged, because of the high nerve density.

If you notice some these warning signs: leg weakness, shivers in your legs and the lower part of your back, lost control of the bladder, explainable and unexpected loss of weight; then you should look for diagnostically specific methods, in order to determine the reason for the pain. If these signs are not present, then the diagnosis can be done using conventional methods. Also, it is very important not to panic, because the symptoms for lumbago are different in each person. Note also that very different factors can cause or extend this pain: psychological, emotional etc.

In order to make a proper diagnosis there are few key factors, like the type of the back pain, the are in which it spreads, history of this type of pain in your family etc. After the diagnosis is done, like in all other cases, before you decide for alternative or conventional therapy, it is important to consult your doctor.