November 7, 2014

Smoking contributes to chronic back pain. A new Northwestern Medicine study has found that smokers are three times more likely than nonsmokers to develop chronic back pain. If you want to lessen your chances of chronic and often debilitating back pain, avoid cigarettes.

How this happens is fascinating. Smoking stimulates parts of the brain that register pain signals, making them more sensitive. Essentially, if a pain signal from back pain would normally be 3, smoking primes the brain to register it as a 7. There seems to be a connection to addiction, so smokers who stop smoking show a lowered sensation to the chronic pain.

Medications, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, were shown to help manage pain, but it didn't change the activity of the brain circuitry. These overactive circuits remained ready to fire and flare up causing ongoing back pain.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141103142320.htm