Have you ever been told to drink more water? What would you say if you were told drinking water could ease your lower back pain?

Well, at Johnson Chiropractic, we know that the discs in your spine are 80% water when they are young and healthy. With age and injury, the discs lose water and that leads to the condition called disc degeneration.

To emphasize this point, a study reports that lower back pain affects up to 85% of all persons at some time in life. Further, lower back pain is a condition for which spinal manipulation has been shown to be beneficial. Researchers study measures that can improve the efficacy of spinal manipulation. One such measure, hydration status, was explored: The spinal discs of 8 women and 11 men with lower back pain of 1 to 12 months’ duration were normal or underhydrated and then hypohydrated for 36 hours before receiving spinal manipulation. (1) All they did was increase water intake for the 36 hours prior to their spinal manipulation sessions (which we know our Richmond chiropractic patients could easily do!).

The participants received 2 sessions of spinal manipulation with a 1-week washout period in between. The result was improvements in total and severe lower back pain in the hydrated (water-content increased) patients vs. the hypohydrated (water-content decreased) patients. Researchers conclude that there is greater improvement for patients in a hydrated state over those in an under-hydrated state. It is then reasonable for healthcare practitioners like your Richmond chiropractor to recommend that lower back pain patients increase their hydration to optimize treatment outcomes for lower back pain relief. (1)

So, at your Richmond chiropractic clinic, Johnson Chiropractic, details such as hydration of the whole patient with spine pain are considered and advised to address the issue if needed.

Contact Johnson Chiropractic for all your Richmond lower back pain nutritional and treatment needs!