Cigarette smoking has been strongly linked to a number of serious health conditions like heart disease, emphysema, lung cancer, and other cardiovascular ailments. This habit is responsible for nearly 440,000 of more than 2.4 million premature deaths in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death around the world. The effects of cigarette smoking has been well documented in terms of cardiovascular and circulatory health is concerned. However recent medical studies have uncovered a link between smoking and back pain.
Various researches suggest that smoking may heighten the risk of developing back pain by about 30 percent. In addition to back pain, smokers may also be susceptible to pain in the neck, shoulders, hands, elbows, knees, and hips. Though the cause of this condition is unclear, one possible reason is that cigarette smoking may damage the general musculo-skeletal (muscles and skeleton system) tissues by reducing blood supply to the tissues, raising clotting risks, and reducing the flow of nutrients to muscles, joints, and back. Heavy coughing due to cigarette smoking may also be a factor in the development of back pain among smokers.
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