Importance of Water
Water is one of those quintessential parts of our lives that many of us fail to recognize the lack of as being a problem. You may think that if you drink plenty of water based beverages like soda, sweet tea, or even coffee, that you are taking in enough water to satisfy your body. Unfortunately this is not the case. Most of these kinds of beverages will actually dehydrate you more! Not only is this a problem for your everyday living, but will also cause your common muscular pain or joint pain to return quicker, and thus need attention more often.
Chiropractic is known for its conservative care to resolve such pain and functional problems, but without proper water intake results can be more limited. As Chiropractors in Savage, MN, we know firsthand just how important water is to overall health and wellness.
Why do we need water?
Why does our body need water? Sure it is the most flavorless drink we are told to consume, but it is also the most important. It is likely that you have heard that anywhere around 60%-70% of our body is made up of water, but even our brain is made up of upwards of 85% of water! We are basically cucumbers with stress! But on a serious note, imagine if you will that your water intake is decreased over a period of time; your brain, organs, muscles, and your joints which includes all the tendons, ligaments, and structures like intervertebral discs (those things in-between each bone in your spine) are lacking appropriate levels of water… and their function and support begins to fail.
Effects of Not Enough Water
Because of your lack of water the joints in your body begin to lose support and fall out of position and soon the pain begins. Next thing you know, you’re calling Watkins Family Chiropractic to see Dr. Josh or Dr. Aaron, fixing up the joints in your body so the pain will go away. After a professional adjustment, some stretching and/or stability exercises, you do start to feel better but you remain prone to flare-ups and re-injury. If your body is running at full hydration, all the structures and functions of your body are more likely to maintain a proper homeostasis, ie- you will feel better more often!
Fully Hydrated
Your intervertebral discs are at full height, your joints are gliding back and forth with ease, and your muscles aren’t cramping up on you while working at the office. Your thinking is sharper, your super information highway known as the nervous system is firing at the speed of light, and you are running at peak performance. Because of this, you aren’t in constant pain, and that professional adjustment at Watkins Family Chiropractic has stayed just the way the Doctor wanted it to, all because you treated your body to the best treatment of water you can! Sounds great doesn’t it? Sometimes simple changes can make a world of difference.
How Much Water
Well now you’re asking yourself, how much water is enough? How can I make it easier to get enough of that water throughout the day? Now that is a simple answer – drink half of your weight in ounces each day! Real easy math, divide your bodyweight in pounds, by 2. So if you weigh 190 lbs: 190/2= 95. If you can drink 95 ounces of water a day, guess what- goal achieved!
You are now successfully hydrated, feels phenomenal doesn’t it?
But sometimes it’s so hard to remember to drink water, or even track how much water you have drank throughout the day… Sure there is that new “smart” bottle that connects to your phone and gives you a whole bunch of data, but no one needs that! Just find a nice water bottle, glass or metal preferred, that has measures on the side to let you track your daily intake. It might help to make goals by a daily timeline, for example: with water by the bed, drink a full glass when first waking up, drink another full bottle before lunch etc.
Also if you have a bottle with you everywhere you go, it’s so much easier to just grab that bottle and throw back some life improving liquid all day long! Quench your thirst, and hydrate your body the way it was meant to be!
