Why Hydration Matters In Rehab and Function?
Why water? - Water has many benefits to us human beings. It can flush toxins out of the body, transport nutrients into the cells and also help regulate body temperature and pH balance.
Benefits of Drinking Water in Physical Therapy
Drinking lots of water to keep yourself hydrated, helps with muscle soreness and tension. Whether you are an athlete recovering after a workout or a patient in physical therapy rehabilitation healing from an injury or surgery; maintaining the body’s hydration is critical to your recovery.
Muscle soreness or pain is a common reason why many patients are in physical therapy rehabilitation programs. By drinking more water, patients' muscle consistencies can change and tight muscles are also softened. The following are some reasons why drinking water can be beneficial for proper function in physical therapy rehabilitation:-
1. Promotes Healing - Not healing well after an injury could be because you are dehydrated. Water oxygenates your body’s vital systems, removes damaged cells and energizes your
tissues. Maintaining proper hydration will maximize the effectiveness of your rehabilitation.
2. Prevents Stiffness - Water will also help with muscle soreness, cramping, and sprains. This is because proper hydration will keep your joints lubricated and your muscle consistency soft and elastic. This will prevent further cramping so you can stay on the path to recovery.
3. Gets Rid of Waste - The body releases metabolic waste through your circulatory system that contributes to the muscular tightness you may be seeing a physical therapist for. When you don’t stay hydrated, the waste constricts your blood flow. Drink more fluids to prevent muscle soreness and allow your body to flush out toxins through your kidney, sweat glands, pores, digestive system, and when you go to the bathroom.
4. Reduces Joint Inflammation - When you are properly hydrated, joint lubrication prevents friction between your bones and you are able to experience a smooth and painless movement. Lubricated joints also lead to healthy muscle movement.
5. Increase in Endurance and Pain Tolerance - When you drink sufficient water, your cognitive capabilities may go up and subsequently, your endurance and pain tolerance will increase.
In conclusion, we can all see how vital keeping our bodies hydrated is. It's more than just "we need to drink 8 glasses per day". Water is a key component for proper functioning of the human body.
Remind yourself to drink some water today. Stay Healthy, Stay hydrated!