What could be the cause of this joint pain?
Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at
7:37 pm
Every so often, the joints in my foot will start to ache, and it’ll radiate throughout all of the joints up to my hip. It feels like I need to stretch my leg out, but that usually just makes it worse. It’s also very stiff and cracks a lot. It’s never happened in both legs at the same time, and it’s more often in my left. Usually applying pressure with an ace bandage helps, but lately, not so much. It comes completely randomly. I’m an otherwise healthy 17 year old girl. Has anyone ever had a problem like this? Thanks so much for any help! 
It sounds very much like you are dehydrated and low on electrolytes. This is a very common problem, especially from those that believe they are getting hydrated by drinking sodas, etc. The kidneys are the power of the body and if they become insufficient due to the lack of water, you will get knee problems and leg problems like what you are experiencing.
The average person needs water at the following rate:
Take your total body weight and divide by 2. That number is the amount of water in ounces that you need to drink each and everyday. Along with that, you should consume 1/4 teaspoon of "air dried sea salt" in conjunction with each quart of water you drink. This puts the electrolytes in your body that will give you proper hydration. The typical white table salt you buy in stores like the Morton Salt, for instance, is terrible for you and has loads of chemicals added. Avoid that junk. If you drink ANY diuretic drinks like, sodas, coffee, tea, alcohol, commercially prepared fruit drinks, energy drinks, etc., these all dehydrate you and you will need to add more water to the total to compensate for the water loss due to these diuretic drinks. Take the total ounces of the diuretic drinks and multiply by 1.5 and add that total to the original total to come up with the proper amount of water you need to drink each day.
Good luck to you