Your skin tells me if you’re not drinking enough water. When you come in for a massage it is the first thing that shows me if you are dehydrated —and it can affect your health and my ability to help you.
Do you drink water before your massage session? If not, you should! When you drink it before your massage it is easier to work on your muscles because they are more hydrated and easier to manipulate. And after your massage, it’s just as important to drink it too.
Why is it so important to our health
Our bodies are made up of a lot of water. Your muscles are 70% water and your brain even more, at 85%. Your body has different ways of telling you it is dehydrated. You could feel thirsty or very fatigued during the day when you haven’t been drinking enough. Other symptoms include headaches, dry mouth, feeling dizzy, weak, a rapid heartbeat, dry flushed skin, muscle cramps and myofascial pain.
How drinking it will help your massage treatment
When you are dehydrated it shows up in your skin, and affects your muscles too. One of the most common signs of dehydration I notice in clients is a loss of skin tone or loose, wrinkled skin. When you drink it before your massage your muscles are more pliable and it is easier for me to perform deep work. Without enough your blood becomes thicker. And this affects your muscle, which become tighter and trap toxins that can cause aches and pains, headaches, and more. When you drink water after a massage, it will help your kidneys and other organs to release the toxins and flush them out of your system.
How much do you drink each day?
With the warm weather, it is especially important to make sure you are getting enough because you lose more fluid without realising it. Do you drink a lot of water? And I don’t mean your coffee, tea or juice intake. Coffee is a diuretic that actually works to eliminate water from your body.
The larger you are, the more you need. Make sure you are drinking water throughout the day or get additional liquid from broth soups and water-rich foods like celery, tomatoes, oranges, and melons.
Ask me how hydrated you are at your next massage appointment.