Smoking…slows your healing

Whether it be because someone has sustained an acute injury like an ankle sprain or pre/post operative knee injury, I always get asked about healing and why something happened or how long it will take to heal and get better? There are a handful of risk factors for poor prognosis when it comes to healing and one of these is smoking.

The smoking of tobacco is the leading most preventable cause of death and illness in Australia (AIHW, 2019). With 11% of people aged over 14 years of age, the largest cohort being people aged in their 40s and 50s, smoking daily in Australia (AIHW, 2019) It’s effects are linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, hypertension, stroke and cancers.

In conjunction with an increased risk for chronic disease, smoking tobacco is also linked with endothelial injury and cell dysfunction. It gets really complicated here if we delve into the cellular biology aspect of smoking, but in a nutshell, our body needs oxygen for healing, and if you smoke, there is less oxygen in the blood. Why this is important is the effects on the musculoskeletal system, including fractures and impaired soft tissue healing, compromised bone mineral density, changes to the lumbar spine disc health and increased risk of hip and forearm fractures.

I have had this conversation more frequently when it comes to pre and post operative patients, as in addition to slower healing, smoking also increases one’s risk of post operative infection. Quitting smoking is not easy, especially if you don’t want to quit. But we know that ceasing smoking four weeks prior to any surgery reduces your post operative risk of complications and is a recommended strategy prior to being operated on.

You can find out more information regarding smoking tobacco through the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) website under the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019. If you are looking to quit but need help your trusted health professional is a good place to start whether it be your GP or physiotherapist. There are also some great resources online, I have attached a linked to the Department of Health and Aged Care as a starting point for anyone who is interested.

Your’s in health

Sam and Andy