Why is hydration so important? We all know we need to drink water, but what are some of the exact physical benefits? And why does my massage therapist always tell me I need to drink water? Well, there are two answers to that question. One, is fascia, and the other is our circulatory system.

1. Fascia is a special connective tissue in our bodies. At the basic level, it holds our muscles, organs, and skin in place (for more information, see our other blog post on fascia). More importantly, however, fascia gives us the ability to move as it is made up of 70% water, thus assists in creating flexibility and more pliability our bodies.

Because of the high water content in fascia, you can think of it like a sponge. When a sponge is dried up, it becomes rough and unpliable. When we are dehydrated, our fascia can become stuck or ”glued” to itself and to the muscles it surrounds. This manifests in our body as decreased mobility, general soreness, chronic pain, and trigger points – hyperirritable spots in our fascia.

When a sponge is hydrated, it becomes flexible and soft. By hydrating our bodies, we keep our fascia flexible and pain free. We also allow the fascia to absorb or “sponge up” the nutrients it needs to stay flexible and healthy.

2. Our muscles store toxins like lactic acid when we are emotionally or physically stressed. Massage helps to increase the circulation to our muscles and in turn, helps to flush out those toxins. However, if we are dehydrated, we have less blood volume available to flow to these muscles to flush out these toxins.

As a generally rule, we are made up of about 70% water so for the optimal functioning of all our bodies systems, it’s a good idea to keep hydrated so these systems are “well oiled.” Your body is your vehicle to experience the world - if you didn’t put oil or fuel in your car it wouldn’t run smoothy or is likely to break down. The same goes with your body, your water intake and the quality of food you consume.

Blog post written by Kat Cantlebary for Remedial Massage Queenstown