Go Smoke Free, Go Pain Free

back care advice from our stoke on trent chiropractorWant to quit smoking in 2018? Doing so could help with your back pain!

According to our Stoke on Trent chiropractor,  smoking can worsen or intensify chronic back pain. Smoking can even put you at high risk of experiencing chronic pain in certain areas of the body, especially the back.

So what exactly is he link between smoking and chronic pain?

Nicotine greatly reduces your heart and lungs’ efficiency which hinders the delivery of oxygen to your body. It can also slow healing, reduce your skin’s elasticity, and increase heart rate and blood pressure.

When all of these factors come together, they not only damage your health, but intensify feelings of chronic pain.

For your muscles and joints to work properly, they need a steady and consistent supply of oxygen-rich blood. Smoking tightens arteries and decreases the rate at which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in the blood. In other words, your smoking habit causes your muscles to not only receive less blood, but poorer quality blood.

Other negative effects of smoking can include fatigue, chronic lung disorders and a slowed ability for the body to heal itself, which indirectly affect chronic pain.  Tiredness and lung disorders often lead to inactivity, which cause muscles to become weak. Slower healing means that injuries may affect you for longer than usual, and healing from surgeries or infections can be difficult.

From back pain to heart disease to lung cancer, every cigarette you smoke is harmful.  Quitting is one of the best things you’ll ever do!

Many smokers want to quit but aren’t sure about the best way to go about it. There’s lots of free support on offer from health care professionals, and by using the support that’s right for you, you’ll significantly boost your chances of quitting for good.

Stub out your smoking habit; stub out your back pain!