Your spinal discs act as spongy cushions between your vertebrae that help to facilitate movement. These discs work optimally when they are hydrated and more flexible, but due to stress and aging, our discs can become thinner and more brittle. When this happens, discs can shift out of place, compressing nerves and causing painful symptoms.
Some disc thinning is natural as we put years of stress and strain on our back, but sometimes disc dehydration can be exacerbated by our actions. In today’s blog, we explore how you can protect your spinal discs from dehydrating and how you can help them remain healthy and hydrated.
Hydrating Your Spinal Discs
You can help to rehydrate your spinal discs or prevent continued disc height loss by making a couple tweaks to your daily life. Habits to keep in mind if you want to have optimal disc health include:
- Stay Hydrated – There’s more to having hydrated spinal discs than simply making sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day, but the fact of the matter is that keeping your whole body hydrated will also be helpful for your disc health. When your body is dehydrated, it can pull water from your discs, leaving them in worse shape to handle stress.
- Have Good Posture – If you have bad posture, certain discs will bear more stress in a static position, which can take a toll on them both in the short- and long-term. Disc dehydration will slow if you have ideal posture, so make it a point to conduct regular posture checks and to adjust your posture when you notice you’re out of alignment.
- Exercise – You might think that exercise could strain your discs and lead them to dehydrate, but exercise actually helps to improve your circulation and strengthen structures in your back so that they can better handle stress, taking pressure off your discs. Regular exercise is imperative for ideal disc health.
- Regular Sleep – When we’re sleeping, our spinal discs regain some of the height they lose during the day. Because of this, it’s essential that you work to get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. For best results, try to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day, and remove some common distractions like your cell phone or television from the bedroom.
- Avoid Alcohol And Tobacco – Alcohol and tobacco can dehydrate the body and inhibit healthy circulation, both of which can be hard on your spinal discs. Limit your intake of these substances, or better yet, kick the habits altogether and your disc health will be better off because of it.
- Weight Loss – A final helpful tip to keep in mind is to work towards a healthy weight. Your spine has to help disperse the stress of your body weight, so if you’re carrying more weight, that will lead to more pressure on your spine. Losing weight will help take this strain off your spine and slow down natural wear and tear on your discs.
Keep these tips in mind and consult with a spine specialist like Dr. Sinicropi if you’re dealing with spine pain or suspect that a disc issue is causing your discomfort. For more information, or for help with your spine issue, give Dr. Sinicropi and the team at the Midwest Spine & Brain Institute a call today.
