The Connection Between Smoking and Arthritis Acceleration

Struggling to move your joints like you used to, or finding it’s messing with your day-to-day life?

If that sounds like you, it could be severe arthritis. And it’s not all that surprising if you’re a smoker.

People don’t talk about it much, but smoking can stiffen up your joints and make them ache.

Smoking can affect your blood flow, making you more prone to strokes and heart diseases. Those narrowed arteries can speed up the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, too. 

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In this post, you’ll find out how smoking and arthritis are more connected than you might think, and how it can make things worse.

How Does Smoking Cause Severe Arthritis?

Let’s clear a few things up about blood flow, muscles, and bones. 

A healthy blood flow delivers all the nutrients your muscles and bones need to stay in good shape. But when you light up a cigarette, the chemicals in the smoke disrupt that flow. 

This means your muscles and bones end up missing out on those vital nutrients, which makes it harder for them to recover and stay healthy. It also speeds up the onset of arthritis.

Reduces Blood Supply to Bones

When your bones aren’t getting the nutrients they need, they can become brittle and fragile. 

If you’re a smoker, chances are your blood circulation to your bones is taking a hit, which makes it harder for them to repair and stay strong.

Without that steady flow of nutrients, your bones are more likely to weaken and wear down over time. 

Clearly, smoking throws a spanner in the works when it comes to keeping your bones healthy and dense.

Lowers Calcium Absorption in Blood

Do you drink milk for the calcium but also smoke at the same time? Sorry to burst your bubble, but your body won’t be able to absorb that calcium if that’s the case. 

The chemicals in cigarette smoke interrupt the calciotropic hormones, which are the ones that help regulate how much calcium your body takes in while you’re digesting.

So, smoking can really put a dampener on your body’s ability to effectively absorb and use calcium.

The whole point of drinking calcium is to keep your bones strong and healthy, right? So, if you’re still smoking, it might be time to rethink that choice. 

Poor calcium absorption from smoking can raise your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

But here’s the good news: once you successfully kick the habit, you’ll slow down arthritis and help restore your calcium absorption and bone growth. 

It’s never too late to give your bones the best shot.

Increased Risk of Bursitis and Tendonitis

Bursitis and tendonitis are pretty common among smokers, and they can cause serious inflammation and pain in your joints.

This is usually something we see in elders who are lacking in calcium. 

The thousands of dodgy chemicals in cigarette smoke can make inflammation worse, leaving you feeling uncomfortable and ruining your joint function.

If your joints are feeling a bit stiff right now and you’re not yet over 50, it could be a sign that calcium malnutrition is already creeping in.

So, why not kick the smoking habit now? It could help you live a longer life and, more importantly, keep you moving comfortably even when you’re enjoying your retirement.

Heightens Free Radicals in the Body

Cigarette smoke contains numerous harmful substances that increase the production of free radicals. These unstable molecules cause oxidative stress to various cells, tissues, and organs, permanently impairing them with the tar and smoke you inhale. 

Moreover, free radicals will cause cartilage all over the body to break down faster, further restricting their growth. By stopping smoking, you’re significantly reducing the level of free radicals in the body, decelerating the onset of arthritis even if you’re past your prime.

Will Stopping Smoking Reduce the Risk of Arthritis?

You’ve finally decided to stop smoking – the knowledge of being able to move well and painlessly as you age has motivated you to start your journey. Once you successfully kick nicotine and tobacco out of your system, you’ll enjoy a better life within just 6 days along with the following benefits. 

Improved Blood Flow

You’re going to get your blood flowing without all the cigarette smoke. By quitting smoking, you can significantly improve blood circulation throughout the body, including the bones and joints. 

As your blood flows better and more efficiently, it delivers all vital nutrients and oxygen to your joints, cartilage, and bones, improving recovery and reducing the early onset of arthritis.

Enhanced Nutrient Absorption

When you stop smoking, your bones get the calcium they need to grow and maintain their integrity. Furthermore, you eliminate the free radicals causing the degeneration of cartilage in your joints and various parts of the body. 

It goes without saying that stopping smoking and having a good diet will significantly reduce the onset of arthritis beyond retirement age.

Overall Health Improvements

After you’re done with ciggies, stopping smoking makes your bones and muscles feel stronger, and it will also improve other aspects of your health. For one, you also reduce your risk of lung, oral, and respiratory cancer. 

You’ll also be able to run faster and for longer (if you exercise) and keep your mood in a good way thanks to endorphins.

Stopping Smoking With the Right Path and Tools

Quitting smoking can be challenging, but with the help of a GP and smoking cessation tools, any smoker can get through and become successful with it. A GP can design a personalised smoking cessation programme for you and help you stop smoking with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and pharmacy-available nicotine vaping products (NVPs).

GPs will assess if NRT products work for you, and if they don’t, they may prescribe pharmacy-available NVPs as a second means to help you stop.

NVP products sold in pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking..

Are NVPs effective quitting tools?. The latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people stop smoking.

Summary

Naturally, arthritis occurs when you’re already past your prime. But if you keep on smoking, you may have arthritis before your kids even step into college. Fortunately, quitting ensures your bones, muscles, and joints remain almost youthful, at least letting you move painlessly as you grow older.

We know you’re reading this to learn about the connection between smoking and severe arthritis. We also know you’re having some problems quitting. We can help.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference:

• https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/smoking
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6304634
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6304634/#B30
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1568603/
• https://www.cochrane.org/news/latest-cochrane-review-finds-high-certainty-evidence-nicotine-e-cigarettes-are-more-effective