Stiff Joints in the Morning

Waking up with joint pain and stiffness can impact your entire day. While some aches and pains may be a part of getting older, stiff joints are also a symptom of arthritis. You can stop your joints from feeling stiff in the morning with Doctor Hoy’s® natural joint pain relief topicals and the following tips for living with morning joint pain.

Why do I wake up in the morning with stiff joints?

If you have a hard time getting out of bed when you first wake up, you might blame it on your old mattress or a lack of quality sleep. While stiff, achy joints can be caused by many factors, people with arthritis often experience stiff joints in the morning and after sitting.

Stiff joints from osteoarthritis can happen as you get older. The spongy cartilage in your joints dries out and you produce less synovial fluid that helps lubricate them. When sleeping, your joints move less and get less lubrication, making them feel stiff first thing in the morning.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis. Overnight, the inflammation in and around your joints can build up, leading to stiff and achy joints. Stiffness from osteoarthritis wears off after about 30 minutes, but those with rheumatoid arthritis may need an hour or more to start feeling better.

What else causes stiff joints?

Arthritis can cause morning stiffness in your hands, feet, knees, shoulders and back. While stiff joints are one of the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis, other conditions that cause stiff joints include:

• Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder
• Thyroid disease
• Vitamin D Deficiency
• Psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory arthritis related to psoriasis
• Ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease affecting the spine
• Being overweight
• Post-surgery inflammation

Joint stiffness from arthritis can come and go, but flare-ups may occur as the condition worsens. Talk to your doctor if you have sudden or worsening joint pain and stiffness. They can diagnose the cause and help you manage your symptoms with medications and natural pain relievers like Doctor Hoy’s topicals.

8 Ways to Reduce Joint Stiffness in the Morning

Prescription medications and over-the-counter pain killers can help reduce inflammation but still leave your joints feeling stiff. Ease feelings of stiffness and improve your morning mobility with the following tips:

1. Stretch in Bed

Loosen stiff joints by performing gentle stretches and exercises while you're still in bed. Make circles with your ankles and wrists, bend and straighten one knee at a time, and reach your arms over your head.

These exercises help lubricate your joints and start to improve your range of motion earlier in the day.

2. Apply Heat

Using heat therapy soon after waking up is an effective way to relieve arthritis pain and stiffness. Keep a heating pad near the bed for early morning relief or take a warm shower as soon as you get up.

Electric blankets, programmable thermostats, and heat therapy wraps are other devices that can help ease stiff joints soon after waking up.

3. Use Natural Pain Relief Creams

For instant relief from joint pain and stiffness, keep Doctor Hoy’s topical joint pain relief at your bedside. Doctor Hoy’s Natural Pain Relief Gel is an FDA-approved pain reliever for arthritis that uses natural, effective ingredients that won’t interact with most medications.

Doctor Hoy’s pain gel provides fast-acting relief from joint pain while our anti-inflammatory arnica cream helps fight inflammation throughout the day. If you struggle with moving your hands or fingers, try Doctor Hoy’s roll-on pain gel with a convenient roller ball applicator. Use Doctor Hoy’s first thing in the morning or as often as you’d like for safe, natural pain relief for arthritis and stiff joints.

4. Change Your Sleeping Position

Research shows there is a strong link between sleep and arthritis. The quality of your sleep directly affects how your body feels and functions. Sleeping in an uncomfortable or awkward position puts strain on your muscles and joints, leading to stiffness and pain.

First, make sure your mattress is firm, but still soft enough to lay on. If you sleep with lower back pain, use extra pillows for lumbar support. Night braces and splints can relieve discomfort from clenching your hands or curving your wrist by keeping your joints in a neutral position.

5. Plan Ahead

Prepping your breakfast, laying out your clothes, and other activities you can do the night before help ease the stress of getting ready in the morning. These preparations allow you more time to get moving.

For some, planning ahead might involve big changes, too, like moving your bedroom to the first floor or talking to your boss about working from home on days when it’s harder to get up.

6. Eat the Right Foods

An anti-inflammatory diet is crucial for people living with arthritis who want to relieve symptoms like pain or stiffness. Avoiding high sugar or processed foods and eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can help prevent morning joint stiffness.

While you can add joint health supplements into your diet, research suggests they may not help in the long-term. Talk to your doctor or dietician about the best foods for arthritis.

7. Be Active

The morning after a highly active day can leave you feeling extra sore and stiff. When exercising with arthritis, try to balance the activities you do each day to avoid flare-ups. Take time to stretch, go on a short walk or do low-impact exercises like yoga or tai chi.

Avoid long periods of inactivity like sitting in the same position for hours at a time. By moving your body through the pain and stiffness, you have a better chance of working through your symptoms.

8. Talk to Your Doctor

Ask your doctor for advice on managing joint stiffness in the morning. They may recommend changing when you take your daily medications or increase your dosage so that your medicine is most effective in the morning.

Always consult your doctor before making any changes to your pain management routine. If your joint stiffness is not related to arthritis, it’s still good practice to see a physician to address your symptoms.

Use Doctor Hoy’s for Pain-Free Mornings

Mornings can be hard when you wake up with stiff, achy joints. Taking steps to prevent and relieve morning joint pain and stiffness can make a huge difference in your everyday life. Doctor Hoy’s natural joint pain relief gel and anti-inflammatory cream help ease the discomfort of stiff joints in the morning so you can start your day on the move.

References:

9 Tips for Better Mornings with Arthritis (2024). Arthritis.org.

10 tips to manage morning stiffness in your joints. (2022). Arthritis Society.

Helmer, J. (2023, September 21). Causes of Morning Stiffness. WebMD.

Joint Pain and Stiffness in the Morning and How To Reduce It. (2019, January 22). Lifespan.

Kormos, W. (2016, October 14) What makes my joints stiff in the morning?  Harvard Health Publishing.

Symptoms - Rheumatoid arthritis. (2019, August 28) NHS.