In The News: January 2012

Women who smoke heavily may experience more chronic musculoskeletal pain. In a study conducted by the University of Kentucky, more than 6,000 women over age 18 were surveyed on their smoking habits and symptoms of chronic pain. Syndromes included in the analysis were fibromyalgia, sciatica, chronic neck pain, chronic back pain, joint pain, chronic head pain, and overall pain. Results showed that women who smoke, or who were former smokers, had a greater chance of reporting at least one chronic pain syndrome in comparison to nonsmokers.