It is always important to stay hydrated, no matter what time of the year it is. Especially in the Orlando Area! As temperatures rise in the summer and we spend more and more time outside and in the water, we often forget to drink enough water. Proper hydration is very important for spinal health, as well as the overall health of your body. Here’s why.
Hydration Is Good for Your Health
Your body is made up of about 65% of water. In order to function optimally, your body needs to be properly hydrated because every cell in your body needs water. Water can do so much for your body, like:
- Moistens your eyes, nose, and mouth
- Lubricates the joints
- Regulates temperature
- Flushes out waste products in the liver and kidney
- Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
- Makes nutrients accessible to the body by dissolving them
- Increases ease of bowel movements and help prevent constipation
- Protects organs and body tissues
- Assists in the metabolism process
The list could go on and on. But its a summary of just how important water is for your health and wellness.
Hydration for Spinal Health
Your spine’s health and function also depend on proper hydration. Despite being made up of almost entirely of water, the discs on your spine can’t absorb water just like the rest of your body. They get nutrients from a process called imbibition. This consists of the proper motion of the joints around each of the spine’s discs. This motion creates a pump effect and the nutrients move in and out of the discs, making proper hydration key for nutrient delivery.
Immobility
Once your spinal discs are dehydrated, your spine will be less flexible, affecting mobility. This will give you overall back pain, but it will also affect how you do everyday activities. When your spinal discs are dehydrated the vertebrae are closer to each other and affect your ability to bend and twist as you should be able to.
Herniated Discs
Bulged or herniated discs are one of the most common results of having a dehydrated spine. Bulges happen when the outer layer of a spinal disc is damaged or weakened. So if you’re experiencing a bulging disc, this can add pressure to your spine and nerves, causing localized pain.
When your spinal discs are extremely dehydrated they will weaken and the risk of them not being able to sustain any impact will increase your chances of a herniated disc.
Back Pain
At least 80% of adults experience back pain in their lives, and spinal disc dehydration can definitely worsen the pain. Discs work as shock absorbers, but when your discs lose water they won’t be able to do it. This means that your spine will receive way more pressure from an impact than it normally would. Experiencing discomfort in your lower back could be the result of having thinned discs or a herniated disc. Additionally, back pain can also happen due to an impinged nerve that came from a dehydrated bulging disc. This is why is very common that your back pain can be related to dehydration.
How Much Water is Enough Water?
A lot of people follow the habit of drinking eight glasses of 8 ounces per day. However, every person is different, has different sizes and different metabolic rates, as well as activity levels. Our suggestion at Mauricio Chiropractic is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water. That is, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should be drinking 80 ounces of water daily. Coffee and alcohol don’t count since they are diuretics that actually dehydrate your body.
Chiropractic Care And Hydration
Spine misalignments and restrictions affect negatively the imbibition process we talked about previously, as well as the discs’ supply of nutrients. If there isn’t enough nutrients and water in the discs, this can cause disc degeneration and spinal instability and decay. A decrease in spinal health can also affect the central nervous system. It communicates with all of your body’s systems, organs, structures, and cells in the body. Therefore, improper hydration can affect your spinal health and well as your entire body.
When you get routine chiropractic care, alignment in your spine is restored and subluxations are removed. This helps improve the imbibition process. Chiropractic adjustments can also help your body absorb water more efficiently and stay healthy.
The Importance Of Hydration For Chiropractic Care
As we move further along the summer months, it’s important for us to stay hydrated and be aware that the heat can pull water out of our bodies. Remember to drink plenty of water and maintain your regular chiropractic adjustments at your preferred Mauricio Chiropractic location for a healthy and happy summer. You can schedule an appointment here today!
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We provide advanced spinal correction utilizing “state of the art” chiropractic techniques. Never in the history of chiropractic have we been able to provide the level of help and expertise that now exists. These newer correction methods are even safer, more comfortable and more effective than ever before. As Doctors of Chiropractic,Our Team has years of training and experience in spinal adjustment.