Water and Joint Health
Water is about 60% of your body and roughly 70 to 80% of joint cartilage. Here's how hydration protects your joints.
Water makes up approximately 60% of our bodies, and about 70 to 80% of joint cartilage is water. It's a crucial component of synovial fluid, the thick gel between the joints that cushions the bones and allows flexible, painless movement.
When water intake is adequate, this gel-like fluid provides shock absorption, lubrication, and nutrition to the joints, and healthy cartilage growth is supported. Dehydration, on the other hand, can lead to joint pain from loss of lubrication, reduced shock absorption, joint degeneration, and muscle cramping. Staying hydrated may also reduce gout attacks.
Signs of dehydration include excessive thirst, muscle cramps, dizziness, headache, fatigue, confusion, lethargy, decreased urine output, and dark urine.
Simple tips: carry a water bottle, eat foods rich in water (melons, pineapples, broccoli, bell peppers, celery, zucchini), limit caffeine and diuretics, flavor water with lemon, strawberries, or oranges, and set a reminder or use a hydration app.
Dr. Maggie Cadet, MD