Water Is One of The Best Pain Killers Known to Man

In 1990 I decided to move to Dallas from San Jose to attend
Parker College of Chiropractic. For anyone that is familiar
with the climates of these two cities the heat and
humidity during the summer months are at two extremes of
the spectrum. I quickly developed severe neck and upper back
pain. I attributed the pain to the stress of starting a
challenging curriculum.

When I reported to the clinic for chiropractic care, my
intern quickly figured out that I had trigger points which
are caused by lactic acid build up in the muscles. Lactic
acid can build up due to consuming acidic foods (coffee,
sodas, etc.) combined with a lack of water to flush the
acid out of the muscles. The most common location for
trigger points is in the upper back although they are
located all over the body. I started slowly drinking more
water until I was drinking at least a gallon and a half of
water a day. My upper back pain magically disappeared. Ever
since that experience I have avoided upper back pain by
consistently drinking enough water.

Chronic pain due to trigger points are very common in
today's culture due to the foods we eat and the fluids we
drink. Water is also used in the body's joints as a
lubricant that prevents pain and inflammation. Whenever
joints move through their normal range of motion, the body
secretes fluid as a lubricant between the bones, tendons
and ligaments in the joint. If a person is dehydrated, the
joints become inflamed and pain is the result.

The best type of water to drink is filtered water. It is
well known that tap water is not safe to drink in most
communities. In recent years it has also been discovered
that bottled water is not always free of heavy metal and
microbial contaminants and actually has less quality
standards for E Coli than tap water. I suggest that
everyone buy a water filter for their drinking water as
well as a filter for the shower or bathtub.

A good water filter will remove the chlorine, microbes
(bacteria, parasites, mycoplasma) and heavy metal
contaminates without removing the trace minerals. I prefer
a ceramic filter vs. a reverse osmosis filter because a
ceramic filter will not remove the essential mineral trace
elements that are essential for health. A recent study
(Geographical Survey of Finland) on 19,000 men over a 10
year period suggests a strong correlation between heart
disease and soft water (minerals removed from the water).

The most common obstacle to increasing the amount of water
consumed is the frequent trips to the bathroom. If the
amount of water consumed every day is slowly increased over
a period of time than the bladder eventually adjusts to the
increase. Consumption of alcohol, sodas and coffee should
be minimized because they cause removal of water from the
body and increase the acidity of the body. Increased
acidity will increase or cause pain and inflammation in the
body. A good rule of thumb is to drink a half
gallon for every 50 lbs. of body weight. A person that
weighs 150 lbs., for example, would ideally drink a gallon
and a half of water per day.

In summary, drinking increasing amount of clean filtered
water at the same time as decreasing the amount of alcohol,
coffee and sodas will go a long way in diminishing or
eliminating chronic pain.

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