The dangers of tobacco use have been well documented for decades: Smoking causes heart disease, lung case, and other chronic lung diseases. Studies from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has also found cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for osteoporosis and bone fractures. No matter your age, smoking affects bone health, especially in those under 30 who are in their prime years of building bone mass. That means adolescents who smoke will not develop bones as strong as their peers who do not smoke. As a matter of fact, the bones continue to be affected throughout every stage of life so long as a person continues smoking.
What Is Osteoporosis?
Smoking cigarettes has been a known risk factor for osteoporosis for many decades, and studies show a direct relationship between smoking and bone density loss. To compound the problem, smoking also lengthens the time it takes for a bone to heal after a fracture.
Osteoporosis occurs when the bones are brittle and more prone to fracture, resulting in significant pain and disability. The good news, however, is that for most people, osteoporosis is preventable. While it is never too late to adopt healthier habits for healthy bones, it’s easiest to battle osteoporosis well before old age, when it is most diagnosed. One of the easiest ways to prevent osteoporosis is to give up smoking.
Can I Avoid Osteoporosis if I Am a Smoker?
The answer is unclear, but the best thing you can do to protect your bones is to give up smoking – for good. That’s because osteoporosis has no cure, and once you lose bone density, you cannot regain it, only maintain the bone density you currently have. Even if you give up cigarettes later in life, it can limit bone loss that is related to smoking. Once you ditch the habit, you can develop many other healthy life habits to ensure you live a healthier lifestyle.
Use these osteoporosis management strategies to strengthen your bone density:
- Eat a healthy diet rich in calcium and vitamin D
- Exercise and do weight-bearing activities
- Maintain a normal body weight
- Avoid alcohol consumption
- Discuss having a bone density test with your doctor
- Take any medication as prescribed
Contact Comprehensive Spine Institute Today
Are you a smoker and concerned about your bone health? Don’t delay. Contact us at Comprehensive Spine Institute to discuss osteoporosis prevention or an osteoporosis management strategy, and we can help you keep yourself healthy for as long as possible.
Contact us at Comprehensive Spine Institute to book an appointment.