Can Emphysema Cause Back Pain?

Emphysema is not only an obstructive lung condition in which the alveoli get damaged, but also may cause extra-pulmonary abnormalities with systemic features. For example, it may affect other parts of the body or cause comorbid conditions that have nothing to do with the lung such as anemia and osteoporosis. Can it cause back pain, too?

Emphysema

This chronic disease belongs to a group of lung diseases called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Obstructive means difficulty to exhale all the air from the lungs – there is usually still an abnormally high amount of air that linger in the lungs after at the end of a maximum (full) exhalation.

The disease mainly targets the small air sacs at the end of bronchioles called alveoli. Alveoli are the crucial part of the lung where the gas exchange occurs. Here oxygen that you inhale from the air will enter into the blood and carbon dioxide out of it.

The damaged alveoli can make it more difficult for breathing. Shortness of breath is the main symptom. At first it usually flares up on exertion such as during exercise. But as the disease becomes advanced, shortness of breath may strike even while you’re at rest. Other symptoms include wheezing, cough, or tightness in the chest.

The bad news, there is currently no cure and the damage can be permanent. Therefore, it’s very important for people with emphysema to control and prevent the disease from worsening. Although it’s incurable, it’s controllable especially if the disease has not become advanced! You might also like to read the chance to reverse emphysema in this section!

The exact way of how it occurs is not fully known. But in general, smoking is often to blame. Most cases of emphysema are associated with cigarette smoking, though there are also many smokers who don’t develop the disease.

Quitting smoking is the most common advice recommended by the doctors to help cope with the disease and prevent it from worsening. It’s also one of the best ways to prevent the disease.

In a few cases, emphysema is attributed by other factors. These include long-term exposure to other airborne irritants or in rare cases due to genetic factor (such as a condition called alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency).

Back pain

It’s a consequence /symptom of a number of many different causes and conditions. Many times it is a minor problem, but sometimes it may also signal a serious health condition.

Anyone can have it at some point in life. However in general, the risk of developing back pain is relatively higher in people with the following risk factors:

1. Older age. The older you are, more susceptible to have back pain. In most cases, people may first have it at the ages of 30-40.
2. It is more commonly found in individuals who are not fit (low physical fitness).
3. Being obese or overweight. More extra weight you gain can add your spine’s job, making it work harder to support the body. This eventually may lead to pain in the back.
4. Genetic factor. Sometimes back pain, such as arthritis of the spine called ankylosing spondylitis, is attributed by a genetic component.
5. If you work in environment in which you have to frequently pull, push, or lift while twisting the spine.

In a few cases, race may also have an effect. For example, back pain affects black women more often than white women.

Can emphysema cause back pain?

Actually, this chronic obstructive lung disease is not a painful disease, and pain is not the main symptom. But pain management is also important because the disease may cause pain due to other factors or its comorbid conditions.

Back pain is not a common symptom of emphysema. However, it is also quite common in people with COPD (including for those with emphysema) – especially true if the disease has become advanced.

Emphysema can lead to back pain in several ways. These include:

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Smoking

Although the exact cause of emphysema is not fully known, but again smoking is often to blame. In fact, cigarette smoking is the leading risk factor of this chronic lung disease.

There is also a link between smoking and back pain. In general, smoking is bad for the health of your spine. It may affect the ability of your body to get enough nutrients to the disks of the spine, increasing the risk of back pain. Smoker’s cough may worsen the symptom. Furthermore, back pain in smokers is likely to last longer (more difficult to relive).

Lack of physical activity

Getting adequate physical activity is essential to help nourish and repair the joints, muscles, discs, or ligaments of the spine. Therefore people with low physical fitness are more susceptible to have problems affecting the spine, such as back pain.

Staying active through exercise is also important for people with emphysema. Regular exercise will carry numerous different health benefits, including good for the overall health of the lungs.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to keep active if you have emphysema. The symptoms of the disease may drive you to become a sedentary individual. Even shortness of breath (the main symptom of the disease) can get worse on exertion.

Furthermore comorbid conditions of the disease, particularly such as osteoporosis, may also limit your ability to exercise.

Osteoporosis

It is a condition in which the bones are easily to break and fracture because the mineral density of the bones is lower than normal (even if compared to what’s expected as a consequence of the normal aging process). Older age is the main risk factor, but it may also be linked to particular health condition.

Osteoporosis in COPD (including emphysema) is quite common – it affects about 20 percent of people with COPD. A number of reasons may link the two conditions, the main ones include:

1. Both COPD and osteoporosis share some same risk factors such as advanced age, smoking, and lack of physical activity (sedentary lifestyle).
2. The long-term use of steroid. The use of corticosteroids medicines may be prescribed frequently for some people with COPD, but this medicine may contribute to increase the risk of osteoporosis.
3. Inflammation of COPD may also have an effect. Chemical mediators of inflammation and similar inflammatory cells associated with the disease may also cause destruction to the bones, not only the lungs. But this issue is not fully known – more researches are required to find a definitive conclusion.

Osteoporosis can affect all bones in the body, including spine and ribcage. In people with emphysema, it may also raise the risk of back pain from the enlargement of the lungs.