This is not the first study that makes the link between chronic back pain and smoking. But according to Dr. Bogdan Petre, of the Northwestern University School of Medicine (United States), the main author of this new study, this is the first time that tobacco has been linked to certain areas. of the brain associated with pain.
According to the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (Inpes), back pain affects or will affect 8 out of 10 people during their lifetime. Frequently exercising to build your back and abdominal muscles, bending your knees when you bend down, and avoiding spending too much time in front of computer screens are some of the tips that are frequently given to avoid that back pain does not set in. But according to Dr Petre, patients should also be advised to quit smoking.
“Smoking affects the brain. We found that it impacts the way the brain responds to back pain; this seems to make people less resilient to a pain episode,” he explains.
For this study, researchers at Northwestern University followed 160 people who had suffered from chronic back pain for 4 to 12 weeks. They also included in their study 35 people suffering from back pain for more than 5 years and 32 people without back pain. The patients underwent MRI scans 5 times over a year. They also answered questionnaires on the intensity of the pain and their smoking status. Scientists have found that two areas of the brain related to pain are particularly active in smokers. “And we saw a sharp drop in the activity of this circuit in smokers who – on their own – quit smoking during the study” adds the doctor.
