Whole body effects of dehydration
As an Osteopath, I’m always thinking about the whole person in front of me, not just the body part they’ve come to for help with. When someone hasn’t been drinking enough water lately, it can show up in their body in all sorts of ways, from a general irritation of the connective tissues, to increased inflammation of the joints, headaches, stiffness, and changes in sleep patterns.
So what exactly happens when you’re dehydrated?
For a start, every cell in the body shrinks slightly. This causes a tiny amount of inward-dragging pressure all over the body, so to me, when I put my hands on to feel your overall body health at the beginning of the treatment, it feels like your whole body is a little bit stressed, tight and irritated. Your nervous system gets buzzy and annoyed, and makes you more prone to joint injuries.
Your heart rate increases slightly, as the workload increases. As your blood gets slightly thicker and harder to move around, your heart has to work harder. This can activate your fight-or-flight nervous system, making it harder for you to relax overall, and making treatment a little harder work for your Osteopath.
You’re more likely to create kidney stones, as your kidneys experience a higher ratio of calcium and other ions in the waste they excrete. Less water as a ratio in your kidneys means it’s a bit like a slowly dripping stream over your kidneys, instead of a cleanly flowing river pushing out the waste. This can create tightness over your lower ribs and back, as your kidneys complain about the extra strain.
Your muscles get dry - as a lower priority than your organs, your muscles are the first to dry out and contract a little. This leaves you more prone to injury, as juicy, stretchy muscles can cope with demand a lot better than tight, crunchy ones. Your usual tight spots can get painfully tight very quickly when you’re dehydrated, and may lead to other injuries as your body compensates.
Your brain gets shrink-wrapped - your brain is covered in connective tissue that protects it, and creates cerebro-spinal fluid. Once you get even just 1% dehydrated, your brain actually decreases in volume, and as it shrinks, the connective tissue covering gets drier, thinner and less juicy. This is the likely cause of the dehydration headache, but has knock on effects for your whole spinal cord down to your pelvis.
You lose height as this connective tissue dries out when you get dehydrated. As it is continuous around your nervous system, from your brain to your tailbone, it shrinks and pulls your head and tail slightly closer together. This puts a lot more pressure on your back, especially the discs in your spine, as these are predominantly made of water inside.
So as you can see, it’s very important to stay hydrated, especially during hot weather or exercise.
