Not everyone immediately associates dehydration    med.: Volumenmangel der extrazellulären Flüssigkeit, u.a. des Blutplasmas – dem Körper wird weniger Flüssigkeit zugef... with physical pain. Nevertheless, there is a direct connection. We would like to discuss just a few examples below.

Back pain or painful intervertebral disc damage can also be caused by a lack of water. This can even result in a loss of function of the intervertebral discs. Unfortunately, this is a rather gradual process. You can only counteract this process by drinking enough fluids. Unfortunately, chronic dehydration is rarely recognized as a cause and is therefore often not diagnosed correctly.

Consequences of dehydration

The result is that the elasticity and functions of the intervertebral discs are severely restricted. Chronic dehydration causes the intervertebral discs to lose their pressure and thus their elasticity to absorb shocks. The distance between the individual vertebrae decreases more and more and the “buffer effect” is no longer present – comparable to a car tire that loses air.

If the intervertebral discs become less and less moist, they can also become porous and brittle, which can lead to extremely painful disc damage if a sudden force is applied.

To protect against further damage to the so-called spinal nerves, the back muscles build up constant tension. However, these are only the consequence of the actual cause. The ability to move is severely restricted due to pain. The cause lies in dehydration and the loss of elasticity of the intervertebral discs due to a lack of water.

Anyone who suffers from unexplained back pain that cannot be alleviated by massages and physiotherapy despite their best efforts should increase the amount they drink each day. In many cases, even long-standing problems disappear as a result!

Pain: where does it come from and who in the body controls everything?

The brain responds to a growing lack of water by activating the neurotransmitter histamine. The histamine then instructs certain subordinate water regulation mechanisms to redistribute the amount of water in circulation. If the histamine and the other regulators move via pain-registering nerve pathways, they can trigger severe and persistent pain.

The pain alerts the sufferer to the fact that dehydration may be present and that it is essential to eliminate it. The body warns you that something is wrong with it. Therefore, the causes of the blockages must be recognized and resolved and not just the pain symptoms combated.

If the body cells are not sufficiently supplied with water, the pituitary gland produces the neurotransmitter vasopressin. This hormone has the ability to constrict blood vessels as soon as there is a lack of water in certain areas. During dehydration, vasopressin constricts the arteries and capillaries to reduce their fluid volume. This is necessary so that the circulatory system continues to have sufficient pressure. This is the only way to ensure that a constant flow of water can reach the cells.

Something similar happens in the bile ducts of the liver. These also contract due to the lack of water. The formation of gallstones is a direct consequence of dehydration.

As soon as there is a lack of water in the body, the so-called renin-angiotensin (RA) system is activated. This system instructs the body to retain water where possible. It affects kidney activity and constricts the capillaries, especially in areas that are not as vital as the brain and heart muscle. However, this also means that the blood pressure on the vascular walls is exceptionally high. This can contribute to various heart diseases. High blood pressure and impaired kidney function can ultimately lead to kidney damage – with serious consequences for the body.

Effects on the kidneys

The main task of the kidneys is to cleanse the blood of harmful substances and maintain a proper fluid balance in the body. To ensure this, the kidneys must constantly monitor the blood volume and also filter out the correct amount of urine.
A congested kidney often remains asymptomatic for a long time and is only discovered at an advanced stage. But in most cases, the constant pressure on the neighboring organs causes low back pain, back pain or flank pain over time. Those affected speak of a “stabbing” pain that feels “as if a knife is stuck in the kidney”.

Kidney stones: pain as a result of dehydration

Kidney stones as a result of dehydration also begin as small crystals and can reach the size of a hen’s egg. Although the small crystals do not cause any pain and therefore usually remain undetected, they are nevertheless large enough to impede the flow of fluid through the small kidney ducts.

Crystals and stones form in the kidneys when components of the urine that are normally present in liquid solution precipitate. The crystals or stones generally have sharp edges, which can then cause injury to the ureter. This often causes severe pain in the groin area or lower back. The pain can also extend down the legs, cause numbness in the thighs, make it difficult to urinate and produce bloody urine.

Dehydration: pain can occur anywhere

It should therefore be noted: If the body does not have enough good water available, problems and pain can arise throughout the body. Wherever there is a lack of water, the body has to draw its own cell water from somewhere in order to prevent the worst derailments. A prolonged “dry spell” can no longer be adequately compensated for at some point, so that illnesses inevitably set in.

This fact makes it clear that water is not called the most important food for nothing.