Does Smoking Cause Joint Pain?

The Negative Effects of Smoking - A Brief

Your body comprises tiny cells. All these small cells function together to maintain an optimum level of health. When you smoke, nicotine - the main culprit of cigarette smoking is capable of altering the basic functioning of your cells. Studies suggest that nicotine can decrease tissue oxygenation, that is, the amount of oxygen your cells receive. This is the essential alteration smoking does to your health, and all problems start from here. 

Are you curious to know how smoking causes hindrance in oxygen distribution? Smoking releases carbon monoxide, which binds to your haemoglobin 200 times stronger than oxygen. When this happens, haemoglobin won't be able to deliver optimum oxygen to your tissues. In addition to these, smoking also interferes with your regular blood flow, wound healing mechanism, etc.

When the basic foundation of the human body is disturbed, subsequent impacts also get noticed in your musculoskeletal system, which includes your muscles, bones and joints. Let us look at the bigger picture of smoking and the musculoskeletal system, especially smoking and the joints.

How Smoking Affects Your Joints?

Smoking can discolour your beautiful natural painting of joint health. Several factors can support this fact.

Nicotine

As discussed earlier, nicotine is capable of hindering your blood flow and oxygenation. When the blood flow gets disrupted, your body fails to remove inflammatory waste from your joints and cannot deliver the oxygen and nutrients your joints need. This results in the stagnation of inflammatory waste in your joints, which can fuel diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Degradation of Cartilages

Cartilages are shock absorbers present in your joints. When you smoke, cells that are in charge of cartilage repair and maintenance are affected. Thus, your joints become exposed to wear and tear. This wear and tear can lead to many joint conditions like osteoarthritis.

Immune System

You might have wondered why the immune system doesn't attack nicotine. It is because nicotine is capable of suppressing even your immune system. Studies reveal functions of the immune system can hugely become disrupted due to smoking. Smoking affects the ability of your immune system to fight infections, which in turn makes your joints more susceptible to joint infections. 

Bone Density

Smoking weakens your bone-building cells and also interferes with calcium absorption. The said process can cause your joints to become more stressful and susceptible to many joint health conditions.

Joint Pain

Smoking shows its love towards you by being a pain in the joints. Yes, smoking can be "a pain in your joints". Inflammation and tissue damage caused by smoking will give you chronic pain in the joints. Not only does it affect your joint mobility, but it also affects the quality of your life.

Muscle Weakness

Your muscles get no love from smoking. Cigarette smoking affects your muscle protein synthesis, leading to decreased muscle mass and weakness. The process makes you more prone to falls and injuries.

Wound Healing

Smokers find it difficult to recover from joint injuries and surgeries. Thanks to their hampered blood circulations and reduced oxygen delivery. 

These are the general health hazards that your joints can experience from smoking. Most of these factors can trigger two main joint health conditions - Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Let us look at how exactly smoking can impact these health conditions.

Impact of Smoking on Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

The following table gives an overall glimpse of the impact smoking has on osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis.

Many people find it difficult to stop even after knowing the risks or health hazards smoking can cause. If you are among them, we are happy to help you. Read on to find out how to stop relying on cigarettes.

3 Tips to Quit Smoking

Recognising the need to quit smoking is the first step. If you are aware of your smoking habits and want to quit them, you are already halfway there. Follow these simple and effective basic steps that you can try:

Identify the Triggers

It is essential to identify what triggers your smoking habit. It may be a situation, emotion or activity. Please pay close attention to these and develop strategies to avoid and manage them. 

Seek Support

Having a support system improves your journey of smoking cessation in a huge way. Talk openly with your friends, family, and co-workers about your strategies, and seek their ideas and inputs to simplify the process.

Replace Your Smoking Habits

Replacing smoking with activities like snaking on fruits and vegetables or engaging in other physical activities can help you.

If you are someone who has tried everything and still finds it difficult to quit smoking, consult with your doctor and decide what is best for you. It may take time, but it's worth all your patience.

The Final Thoughts

Smoking is not suitable for you, physically and mentally. The sooner you recognise this, the sooner you can overcome it and get a healthier life with healthy joints. Your joints are naturally getting weaker due to ageing. You don't want to fuel the ageing process with smoking. 

We hope this blog helped you to understand the relationship between smoking and joint health.