Previous studies showing a link between smoking and back pain, researchers at the University of Florida in the United States wanted to clarify this link. They followed 5333 people suffering from back pain and herniated discs during standard medical care over a period of 8 months.
At the beginning of the study, researchers already noted that people who smoke have more back pain than non-smokers. All patients then received treatment tailored to their situation (from surgery to simple anti-inflammatories). After 8 months, the result was still the same: people who smoke still had more pain. Nevertheless, other interesting points were highlighted: people who quit smoking during the treatment period saw their condition improve more strongly, to match that of non-smokers.
For researchers, these results confirm that nicotine exacerbates pain. They state: "In this study, people who quit smoking see their condition improve. On the other hand, for those who continue, there is little to no improvement, regardless of the medical treatment followed. Quitting smoking greatly improves the quality of treatments, and we believe that smoking cessation programs should be provided to people suffering from back or spine problems."
Sources : La nutrition.fr - Références : Caleb Behrend, Mark Prasarn, Ellen Coyne, MaryBeth Horodyski, John Wright, Glenn R. Rechtine. Smoking Cessation Related to Improved Patient-Reported Pain Scores Following Spinal Care. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 2012 Dec;94(23):2161-2166.