Drinking Back Pain Away, with Water that is!
This month, in keeping with our focus on other factors affecting back pain, we are going to discuss dehydration. I can already hear you ask, what does this have to do with back and joint pain, that is exactly what this article is going to explain.
The human body is approximately 60% water in adult males and about 55% water in adult females. Unfortunately for many the amount of water in the body is significantly less. This is due to both an already low water intake combined with an excess consumption of coffee, tea and soft drink. All these substances have a diuretic effect leading to increased urination of water. This leads to most people living in western cultures being mildly to chronically dehydrated.
Considering the dehydrated nature of most of us we were surprised when we recently heard a radio interview with one of the promoters of a new diet. With this diet that water intake was to be restricted on one or two mouthfuls when feeling thirsty and no more. While it is possible to have too much water, pure water does not become toxic until consumed at a rate approaching 10L per half hour. Impure water, on the other hand will be as toxic as the various chemicals it contains.
While water has a number of roles in the body, the main one we are going to talk about is the role of water in lubrication of the joints and vertebrae.
To understand the importance of this, let's take a quick look at the spine. The spine consists of a number of vertebrae stacked on on top of the other. This ranges from large, solid vertebrae in the lower back, or lumbar region, through to small, mobile vertebrae in the neck or cervical section of the spine. In between each of these vertebrae are intervertebral discs. If you've ever heard of anyone slipping a disc, this refers to a disc sliding out of place form between the two vertebrae and pushing on either the spinal cord or a nerve root.
The intervertebral discs are essentially a small, fluid filled capsule containing a mixture of mineral salts. They provide a cushioning and lubricating effect between the vertebrae, preventing them from grinding across each other and compressing nerve roots. Compression of nerve roots leads to pain, restlessness of limbs and potentially functional problems, such as digestive disorders, where the nerve compression is in the middle of the back.
When the body is dehydrated it takes water from other places within the body. This includes muscle tissue, joint capsules and the intervertebral discs. As the fluid in these discs becomes drained they lose the cushioning effect they initially had.
The following diagram, taken from "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" demonstrates a "before and after" shot. The left hand segment of the joint shows a dehydrated joint, while the half on the right shows a well hydrated joint.
Let's give an example of this in action. One of the many causes of sciatic nerve pain, in addition to piriformis syndrome we discussed last month, is due to compression and irritation of the L5 nerve root. This can happen for a variety of reasons, however one is the compression of this nerve root between two vertebrae. One of the causes of this is lack of fluid in the intervertebral disc.
The United State Department of Agriculture has recognised that water is just as important as any other nutrient. An RDA of 2.7L has been established, however Dr Batmanghelidj recommends the following easy to calculate guidelines for water usage:
To better determine how much water you need each day, divide your body weight in half. The answer is the approximate amount of water ounces you should drink daily. If you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces water (3.13 quarts, 2.98 liters or 10-12 cups of water a day).
It is important to note that the USDA has defined no upper limit for the consumption of water.
Increasing the amount of water drunk and decreasing the amount of coffee and tea not only allows for rehydration of these capsules, but also provides a number of other benefits to the body:
- It serves as an anti-histamine and can be valuable in controlling the effects of allergy responses;
- It increases the ability of the kidneys to eliminate toxins from the body, in a dehydrated state the kidneys recycle water and the toxins it contains;
- It allows for rehydration of the cells which assist the body in becoming more alkaline.
It is essential that water consumed be filtered. Not only does SEQ water now contain fluoride but many other chemicals and toxins are present in our drinking water that are applied as part of the water treatment process. Additionally water may contain fungus, fertilizer residue and even heavy metals from old pipes and plumbing. It is particularly interesting to note that excessive exposure to fluoride, and buildup over a lifetime of ingestion, may lead to a condition known as skeletal fluorosis. The symptoms of skeletal fluorosis are easily confused with arthritis in the early stages and spondylosis / spondylitis in the later stages.
To further assist in rehydration of the cells and ensure correct mineral balance in the body placing a pinch of celtic sea salt on the tongue and washing down with 500ml of water can be beneficial.
So for those that remember the TV ad "How's your Kidney Been?" here's yet another reason to increase intake of pure, filtered water.
Marianne is the nutritionist at the Passion4Health Massage and Wellness Browns Plains clinic. She has a background in Health Science from Griffith University in Brisbane. In addition to undertaking her Diploma of Remedial Therapies, Marianne is currently studying an Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy.
Marianne is passionate about helping our clients regain optimum health. She understands the importance of correcting nutritional habits as part of an ongoing health program.