We all know that keeping ourselves hydrated is important for our overall health. In order to keep properly hydrated, it’s recommended that we consume about half a gallon of water over the course of the day. If you’re not drinking enough, you’re under the weather, or performing activities where you aren’t replacing enough of the water in your body that you’re expending, you may experience dehydration. A milder case can cause headaches, muscle cramps, and dry mouth. A more severe case can cause very dry skin, rapid heartbeat, and fainting. Dehydration could even affect your spinal health.
Can Dehydration Give You Back Pain?
Yes, dehydration can cause back pain. The vertebrae in your back have an outer cushioning known as the annulus fibrosis and an inner cushioning known as the nucleus pulposus between each one. That cushioning is primarily made of water. And because it’s primarily made up of water, you’ll find that over the course of the day as you expel water combined with the effects of gravity that you’ll be ever so slightly shorter at the end of the day than you were when you first woke up in the morning.
As a result, if you end up expelling excessive amounts of water you may end up thinning out the cushioning between your vertebrae to the point that you’re experiencing back pain. If you work a physically demanding job where you find yourself sweating often and are unable to drink enough water to replenish yourself or are experiencing chronic dehydration by other means while suffering new back pain, that may be the cause of it.
Does Drinking Water Help with Degenerative Disc Disease?
It does. Drinking water and keeping properly hydrated in general supports disc health, and the best way to help with degenerative disc disease is through prevention, including drinking water. Exercises for your back and maintaining a healthy body weight will also help prevent or mitigate degenerative disc disease. Additionally, looking into physical therapy or chiropractic care to help with pain management is an important step in handling degenerative disc disease in a way to continue resuming your day-to-day life.
Can Drinking Water Help Sciatica?
Sciatica is somewhat of a different beast than something like degenerative disc disease. The pain produced by sciatica is from pressure placed on the sciatic nerve. The nerve is associated with the lower back. So, staying properly hydrated for your overall spinal health is going to be helpful in prevention. Similar to degenerative disc disease, depending on your pain levels and how frequently your sciatica flares up, you’ll want to look into physical therapy and chiropractic options as part of your overall pain management strategy.
Total Chiropractic Care Can Help You Manage and Relieve Your Chronic Back Pain
While proper hydration will help improve and maintain your spinal health, it is only one part of your overall back care. Persistent issues relating to degenerative disc disease and sciatica can be better addressed through physical therapy, chiropractic care, as well as life advice tailored to your needs. Total Chiropractic Care offers all of these services and much more. Contact us today to plan your treatment strategy and start living a more comfortable life.