Treating Morning Stiffness with Chiropractic Care

Many new patients who visit our clinic complain of morning stiffness. This morning stiffness is also called first-movement pain.  It can be brief, lasting only 15 minutes, or it may persist for up to an hour. Usually, morning stiffness will resolve on its own as the day wears on, but then it tends to return in the evening hours. Ultimate Health Clinic is here to explain why this stiffness occurs and how it can be treated.

What is the Cause of Morning Stiffness?

Arthritis is the most common cause of morning stiffness. When your body is in motion, your joints stay primed and lubricated. When you rest, such as sleeping overnight or sitting still for an extended period, your joints are also at rest. As the body rest, it allows fluids to gather in the joints and also encourages inflammation. Paired together, these two symptoms result in stiff joints. Arthritis isn’t the only cause of morning stiffness, though, so it is important to get evaluated so that you can receive the proper treatment for any underlying condition.

Stiffness & Joint Age

The next most common causes of stiffness are muscle tightness and stiff joints. Your joints don’t age the same way that the rest of your body does. They can get older more quickly due to wear and tear, illness, or even obesity. When your joint grows older, the cartilage, which serves as a cushion, loses moisture and becomes stiff. The joints themselves will also start to lose their natural lubrication, which can cause stiffness in the joints, tendons, and weaker muscles. There is no way to reverse the aging process of your joints, but there are many treatments to help ease the symptoms.

Treating Morning Stiffness

There are several ways to treat morning stiffness with healthy lifestyle changes. You should start by ensuring that you are using the right type of mattress for your body type. Getting a full night of deep sleep will help your body to repair itself, so you always feel your best. Avoid extreme cold, and make sure to layer clothing over your joints when needed. The cold naturally causes joint stiffness in people of all ages, but it is worse as joints age.

When you wake up in the morning, take a few minutes to do some quick stretches to relax your muscles and lubricate your joints. Drinking at least eight glasses of water will help maintain joint lubrication and reduce morning stiffness. Another way to improve joint health is to eliminate preservatives, unnatural dyes, and aspartame. Reducing carbohydrates, working out regularly, and maintaining low-stress levels are a few additional ways to keep your joints in good working order.

Chiropractic Care for Morning Stiffness

Chiropractic care is another option that can be paired with more traditional joint pain treatments. Many things can cause poor spine health, such as lack of physical activity, overactive physical activity, bad posture, poor sleeping habits, and even poor breathing. These things that harm your spine end up adversely affecting your entire body, as well.

Chiropractic adjustments may help to correct any spine and joint misalignments, while also reducing movement restrictions. This will help manage any joint pain and inflammation. Chiropractic adjustments are completed by a skilled chiropractor who will apply sudden controlled pressure to your spinal joint to correct its alignment. This chiropractic treatment will help reduce stiffness, improve range of motion, and help with the pain.

Poor posture can also lead to stiffness and back pain. Bad posture causes stress to be placed unnaturally on the spine, which leads to pain and inflammation. Adjustments help to improve nervous system integrity and support oxygenation, which will improve your overall health.

How We Can Help

The chiropractors here at Ultimate Health Clinic will help you create a treatment plan tailored to meet the needs of your specific health condition. If you are tired of living with pain, give our office a call at (905) 251-0162 to schedule an appointment.