How Can Drinking More Water Reduce Back Pain?
Many people suffer from chronic lower back pain. There are more than 26 million Americans who feel the same dull lower back ache and are experiencing limited mobility because of it. While you should seek a physical therapy to relieve your lower back pain, there are a few daily changes you can start making now to help improve your spine health. You can read more about them in my blog or in my Back Pain Free Report. But one of the most overlooked changes you can make it to drink more water. Thar’s right, hydrating can help reduce your lower back pain.
How Can Drinking More Water Help Reduce Back Pain?
First let’s look at how your spine is composed. Your spine has vertebrae, which are the little bones that give your spine the shape it has. And in between the vertebrae are discs, which are little cushions that protect your vertebrae from any impact.
When you are not drinking enough water, the discs between your vertebrae, shrink and absorb less impact. This means that if you are not well hydrated you may start to feel pain in your back when you’re doing activities such as running, walking on hard surfaces, bending and twisting like you would do if you’re lifting or doing yoga or pilates. All of those activities require that your discs provide cushioning and are able to absorb the impact on your spine when you’re doing a deadlift, a handstand, or running for long distances.
Drinking more water can reduce back pain. Staying hydrated throughout the day can help reduce your lower back pain by maintaining those discs full of liquid so they can cushion your spine through all the types of movements we put our bodies through and by preventing the muscles around your spine from an increase in lactic acid, which can cause inflammation, further pain, and compress the nerves surrounding your spine.
How can I stay hydrated? To start, try drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day. But, if you are leading an active lifestyle and workout, are sweating more because of high levels of activity, or you are in the sun more, or you just live in Miami you may need more water. For more information, individual to your specific lifestyle and needs, reach out to Nate Diaz from Nutrition for Performance, who can give you further detail on how to stay hydrated.
Relief for Your Lower Back Pain
Drinking more water is an easy lifestyle change you can make that will increase cushioning to your discs and decrease inflammation and nerve compression around your spine. But this may not be the best or long term solution to treat your lower back pain.
If you have been experiencing lower back pain for more than a few weeks, nothing you are trying on your own seems helps to reduce the symptoms, or you’re noticing symptoms and the pain is increasing day by day and you feel more like limiting your daily activities, it may be time for you to see a physical therapist.
We use a combination of manual physical therapy techniques, along with corrective exercises to get you back to the active lifestyle you want. Reach out to me to schedule a Discovery Session so we can discuss how physical therapy can help reduce and eliminate your lower back pain. Our Discovery Session is free and meant for you to understand the reason and the root cause of your back pain, as well as learn the treatment needed to restore your body in a good position, decrease the pain, and get you back to enjoying your life. I look forward to hearing more about you and providing a long-term solution to your problem.