Avoiding holiday back pain

Your spine, muscles and joints depend on water. It transports essential nutrients and oxygen to the muscles, carries away the waste products from muscular activity and helps to detoxify the joints.

A lack of water leads to dehydration, the body becomes sluggish and muscles become less efficient. All this is bad news when it comes to back pain.

Top Tips for the summer

• Caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee are not good substitutes for pure water. They tend to have mild diuretic properties and can therefore favour dehydration. Alcoholic drinks also have a similar effect.
  Try replacing some of the cups of tea or coffee you are drinking throughout the day with pure water or fruit teas.
  
  
• Don’t rely on your thirst to tell you when to drink. By the time your body tells you that its thirsty, you are already mildly dehydrated.
  Keep a bottle of pure water handy, when you are out and about, or a cool glass by your side whilst relaxing by the pool. This way it is easier to maintain a regular intake of water through out the day and avoid dehydration.