Upwards of 70% of your body is composed of good old H2O. Some claim as little as a 2% drop in fluids can leave you itchy, groggy, constipated, and feeling generally rotten all around.
It certainly makes sense to stay hydrated. Drinking enough water helps ensure our bladder and kidneys flush toxins out of our bodies. It helps our bodies digest food. And it can even prevent headaches, joint aches and muscle pain.
So what does this have to do with your spine? Quite a bit it turns out. Not only is over 70% of your body made up of water, but a similar ratio exists in the discs that cushion the vertebrae in your spine. It turns out dehydration is a little talked about but significant factor contributing herniated and bulging discs.
A decrease in disc water content is associated with spinal disc degeneration. As the discs break down, cracks form in the fibrous outer ring of the disc leading to fluid loss. The inner core becomes weaker as it shrinks and comes under more stress until conditions become ripe for the disc to bulge or herniated.
Exactly how much water is enough can be a matter of significant debate. The most commonly given “rule” is to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. It’s really more of a “rule of thumb” though as the amount your body really needs largely depends on your gender (males tend to require more water), weight (larger mass requires more water), activity level, and environment among other factors.
Allow me to make drinking water simple for you. If you’re thirsty, drink a glass of water. Seriously. If you’re not thirsty but are experiencing some of the symptoms of mild dehydration, try drinking a glass of water anyways. Normally if you’re drinking enough water your urine will be clear or pale yellow. Be aware that it’ll typically be darker first thing in the morning, after a meal, or when taking water soluble vitamins like riboflavin.
When your body is properly hydrated, your spinal discs are able to reabsorb fluids at night while you sleep. Many individuals with back pain have gotten fast relief by using inversion therapy tables which release pressure on the discs through gentle gravity-based traction. This allows fluid to soak back into the spongy interior of the disc so that it can heal and properly support your vertebrae.
So yes, water is the stuff of life. And the stuff that’ll help your spine stay healthy too.
Related references: H2O: Hydration; Marketing Health Promotion, Wellness, and Risk Information for Spinal Cord Injury Survivors in the Community. Craig Hospital. Englewood, CO.
Wognum S, Huyghe JM, Baaijens FP. Influence of osmotic pressure changes on the opening of existing cracks in 2 intervertebral disc models. Spine. 2006;31:1783–8.
Zhao F, et al. Discogenic origins of spinal instability. Spine. 2005 Dec 1;30(23):2621-30.
Nosse, L.: Inverted Spinal Traction. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 59: 367-370, Aug 78.
Inversion therapy has been used for thousands of years to treat various forms of back pain and sciatica. Here’s what we think about this popular inversion table…
If you’ve purchased or used a Teeter inversion table, please post your comments.
Share Your Best Pain Relief Tips
and You Might Be a Winner…
A couple of weeks ago I was reading through some of the thousands of emails I get each day and I came across one that really struck me…
Someone had written in to tell us how much our free videos had helped his wife… but he also said that one of the things that worked the best for her when it came to pain relief with mustard…
Yes, mustard… now, if I recall correctly it was prepared in a special way… but it got me thinking, I bet that there are dozens, if not hundreds of other little-known natural remedies out there that most people just don’t know about…
So, I decided a great way to get everyone to share their best pain relief tips, strategies and remedies would be a contest…
To enter simply post your tip onto our blog using the link below and you’ll be entered to win the following prizes:
1st Prize: Inversion Table ($299 value)
2nd Prize: Lose The Back Pain System ($97 value)
3rd Prize: Freedom Back – Back Support ($59 value)
The team here at the Healthy Back Institute will choose the winners and the deadline is Thursday, September 10th.
While working with the Healthy Back Institute, I have talked to thousands of back pain suffers who have undergone some form of surgery.
They are shocked to learn afterward that most spinal surgeries typically fail three to five years later.
By “fail,” I mean that you find yourself in pain once again. In fact, these operations are so unreliable, that the medical establishment coined a term for them: Failed Back Pain Surgery Syndrome (FBPSS).
It’s not your fault that you were misled or that you once again are finding yourself in pain. And while you may think your case is unique, it is not. There certainly are a thousand different circumstances leading to back surgery… but the truth is your story has ended up just like everyone else’s.
The trouble is due to a slight defect in the medical community’s approach that gets played out over and over when dealing with back pain surgery.
Here at The Healthy Back Institute we’re HUGE fans of inversion therapy for two BIG reasons:
First, because it feels fantastic on your back. You just don’t realize how much pressure your spine is under all-day, everyday until you finally take some pressure off of it. Inversion relaxes all of the little supporting muscles of your spine – it’s just a great feeling.
The second reason we love inversion is because it works so well to relieve so many people’s back-pain.
My wife was in tears from the pain …
because of inversion she’s her old self again!
“My wife suffered from severe sciatica for four months. During that time the pain progressed from a mildly annoying feeling in her upper right thigh to a stabbing, burning pain which ran the complete length of her leg.
“It’s important you understand that my wife has an extremely high pain tolerance, however this pain reduced her to tears many nights. Sleep was impossible. Finally I purchased your inversion table. In less than one week she was sleeping again and the pain had diminished considerably. We’ve owned the table now for about 4 weeks. My wife uses it two to three times a day, for about 6 minutes a session. She is her old self again, sleeps fine and is pain free. The folks at the spine clinic wanted to discuss surgery with her. Purchasing your inversion table was the best thing we ever did.”
–J. Luper, Salt Lake City, UT
I’ve got osteoarthritis.
Inversion relieved 3 years of my back and neck pain!
“I am a 43 year old female who has been stricken with osteoarthritis. People look at me and see a vibrant, healthy looking person, but they have no idea what’s happening on the inside of my body. I have suffered with lower back and neck pain for three year’s now. For the past three month’s I have been inverting, and cannot begin to describe the relief I have experienced. I would like to encourage anyone sitting on the fence about inversion, to jump off and try it. You have nothing to lose but sleepless nights and long hours of discomfort.”
–S. MacLeod, via e-mail
So if you haven’t considered Inversion Therapy before — but would like to learn a little more about it — we put a video together for you.
If you’re pain is too big a part of your life — and you’re serious about finding new ways to relieve it so you can get on with doing the things you love — you should really give inversion some serious thought.
I hope you’ll take a minute or two to watch the video and give inversion some serious thought if you’re looking for ways to get faster, more immediate pain relief.
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Phone: 800-216-4908 Fax: 866-843-4319
The Healthy Back Institute is a Get Healthy and Fit Company