Stay Hydrated This Summer

Water

How Dehydration Affects Us

It is summertime in Broken Arrow, OK. and forecasters are predicting a high of 100 degrees for this Saturday. Many of us will be finding cooler activites to participate in: a day at the lake, taking the kids to the pool, or an early morning or late afternoon walk. Whatever activities you are involved in this summer, it is important to remember that you will be using extra water each day in the form of sweat and if you are exercising, additional breathing.

Sixty percent of the human body is made up of water.  Seventy percent of the human brain is water and up to 90% of the human lungs are water. So it is relatively easy to see that water is important to our health. But how much water do we really need? An adult human must replace 2.4 liters each day. A portion of this is reclaimed by the foods that we eat, but some must be obtained through drinking.

There is much debate on how much water a person should drink each day. Many of us have heard the recommendation of (8) 8oz glasses per day. A good general rule is drink a half an ounce of water for every pound you weigh. So if you are 140 lbs, drink 70 oz. The best way to determine your body's hydration level is to observe the color of your urine. After the first time urinating in the morning, your urine should be light straw colored or clear. If your urine is darker during the day, this is a direct indication that you are dehydrated.

For those who suffer with chronic back/neck pain, assess the level of water you are drinking. The human disc, which acts as a shock absorber to the spine, is largely made up of water.  When we get chronically dehydrated, the discs stop performing well and nerve pressure and resulting pain is quick to follow. Dehydration also will increase the likelihood of a disc herniation or rupture.

So have an incredible summer by packing plenty of sunscreen AND plenty of water to keep you and your family properly hydrated.

What we can learn from the dentist

For decades, the dentist industry has done an amazing job of educating the public in the importance of mantence visits for the early detection of dental problems. Most people are aware that it is recommended that you should get your teeth checked and cleaned professionally every 6 months. Why? Because if there is any early sign of tooth decay, it will be caught at an early enough stage where a very minimal amount of care will be needed to correct the problem. It might only need a good cleaning, or possibly a small cavity being filled, versus more intensive remedies like crowns, root canals, tooth removal, or the need for partials or dentures.

That gets us into cost. The cost of a cleaning or a small filling for a cavity is very small compared to the extensive costs occured when the more invasive work is need. Not to mention the additional time and extra visits to the office that are often required for such procedures. As they say, time is money.

So what can we learn from the dentist? Chiropractic is very similar to dentistry in the area of early detection. If a spinal problem is observed in the early stages of injury, in most cases, it can be corrected in a short amount of time, with much less cost and with less time to experience pain and/or loss of function.

So if you are currently in pain, don't wait. Get in today and get a thorough spinal exam to see what your current condition is, so that the Doctor of Chiropractic can start correcting the problem before it gets worse. Not in pain? Get a spinal check up before you have pain to detect small developing problems before they cause limiting pain and restriction of mobility. Some patients enjoy longer times in between check ups after the chiropractor has been able to correct and help the patient stabilize their spine. For some this can be one to two months in between visits, for others with less severe conditions they can extend these in between check ups to 4-6 months. The key is early detection, so have a chiropractic check up regularly and ideally before pain errupts.