Water: Your Body’s Unsung Hero 

Jet Rupar, LMT BCTMB

We all hear about how water is important. But why is water so important? I mean, things like coffee and soda have water in it, right? Why aren’t those acceptable alternatives???? 

Let’s define some things. This way we are all on the same page.

The Defining Moments

Hydration: A state of having proper water levels in your body. This is the ideal. A hydrated body is a happy body.

Dehydration happens when there is significant fluid loss that impairs body functions. This can happen if :

• You don’t drink enough water.
• Exertion (through exercise).
• Being outside on a hot/humid day.
• Sweating (sweating can be caused by the previous two reasons)
• Symptoms of sickness, such as vomiting or diarrhea

Why hydration is important.

Our bodies are 60 percent water and aids our body in every type of function.

Blood plasma

Carries red and white blood cells among other things throughout your body, is approximately 95% water. 

Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and nerves within the spinal cord, and is made up of mostly blood plasma without most of the proteins found in blood plasma. 

There is fluid in between your joints (synovial fluid) that is consistent with blood plasma. Bursae, which lay near joints to help protect muscle and tendon from bone, are also filled with synovial fluid.

Hormones, which along with nerves help to tell your body what to do, travel through the blood.

The extracellular fluid that surrounds all of your cells is made up of mostly water.

Lymphatic fluid, which flows through your lymph system which helps to rid your body of waste products is also congruous with blood plasma.

Water helps nutrients and electrolytes pass into and out of cells so that they can get the energy they need to function.

Water also helps aid in digestion. It eases the passing of food from the stomach into the intestines as well as allowing the nutrients to pass from the intestine into the bloodstream.

And this is just the beginning of why water is so important for the body. The list can go on and on, and books can be written about how water is just so necessary to our lives.

The Importance of Water: Summer Edition

There are a few conditions that can happen when you bring together dehydration plus heat, humidity, and exertion.  Each thing is described below, and the longer you wait to hydrate, the worse the heat makes things.

Heat cramps are cramping in the extremities or abdomen that can happen if you don’t have enough water or electrolytes (which include salt, potassium and magnesium).

Heat exhaustion is next in severity when it comes to heat injuries. Symptoms can include a rapid (but weak) pulse and heavy sweating. You may feel faint, dizzy, fatigued. Skin will be cool, pale, clammy when in heat. Getting water into the body and getting cooled down is important at this stage, so that it doesn’t get any worse. If you are sick, please seek medical attention as this may make things worse.

Heat Stroke is the worst over heated injury. Once your body goes into this stage, your body will more than likely no longer be producing sweat. Body temperature will be high (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher). Heartbeat will be heavy and rapid. Skin will be red and hot. If you are here, you should seek medical attention.

Post Massage, water and you.

So, if water is important every day, why does your massage therapist suddenly seem extra interested in your hydration after a massage?

The simple answer is that massage doesn’t create a special need to flush toxins. But massage is also one part of your day—not a replacement for the basic things your body needs, including adequate hydration.  Staying hydrated supports the bodies many systems that depend on adequate fluid to function. It allows there to be enough fluid in your system to remove byproducts of everyday life out of the body. This is also why your personal trainer or other fitness professional will tell you to drink water. It helps your body perform at its best. And we all want to perform at our best!! Plus, keeping things like dehydration headaches away is always a good thing.

A more personal story

I want to tell you a story as to *why* it is that we insist on the water thing.

I went and got myself a massage one day. Told the therapist my specific issues for the day, and we went along with my session. Like any massage day I got up when we were done. I realized that I felt a bit strange, indeed, from the work that was done (which is not a bad thing, it just meant we really worked out my issue, which is what I definitely needed). I got myself reoriented andwent on with my day.

As the day continued, yeah, I drank some water, but I found that as the day continued, I started to not feel right at all. I felt achy.  I figured it was mostly because I got the massage and things really got worked out. However, I will admit… there was a small part of my brain that went “OMG, AM I SICK?  IS IT COVID???”

But, I decided to try something else before jumping to the worst case scenario.

Since I was home, I started to drink water. Not just a small bit. LOTS OF IT.

The more I drank, the more my body seemed to perk up. I started to want to do more productive things again. I felt better, not by just a bit, but by leaps and bounds.

I’m not saying that water magically cured whatever I was feeling that day. But I realized that I probably hadn’t been paying much attention to my hydration, and drinking water was a simple thing I could do to support myself.

Water and the Body After Massage

After I do massages, I usually tell people to drink more water, because it is generally a useful thing. Our bodies use water every second of every day. Blood, the fluids surrounding our brains and spine, and even our basic cell structure all need this fluid to do its thing so that we can be us. If we don’t get enough, we can feel sluggish or headachy. 

Our bodies are complicated. Sometimes the answer to “Why do I feel this way?” is equally complicated. Sometimes, though, it’s worth checking the basics first.

Have you eaten? Have you rested? Have you moved? And yes… have you had something to drink besides coffee?

Water isn’t exciting. It doesn’t come in a fancy bottle with promises of transforming your life. But your body uses it constantly, and sometimes taking care of yourself starts with the wonderfully boring basics.

So stay hydrated, my friends. Your body is doing a lot. The least we can do is give it something to drink.

1) Tuskegee University (May 29, 2013). “Chapter 9 Blood”. tuskegee.edu. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013.

2) Guyton, Arthur C.; Hall, John Edward (2005). Textbook of medical physiology (11th ed.). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders. pp. 764–7. ISBN978-0-7216-0240-0.

3) Bennike, Tue; Ayturk, Ugur; Haslauer, Carla M.; Froehlich, John W.; Proffen, Benedikt L.; Barnaby, Omar; Birkelund, Svend; Murray, Martha M.; Warman, Matthew L. (2014-09-03). “A Normative Study of the Synovial Fluid Proteome from Healthy Porcine 

4) Knee Joints”. Journal of Proteome Research. 13 (10): 4377–4387. doi:10.1021/pr500587x.