Do you do the “old man shuffle” in the morning?
Is it my bed? Is it my pillow? Why am I so stiff in the morning? These are some of the most common questions that I hear my patients asking during treatment at my office. They feel the stiffest in the morning, when getting out of bed, and then start to loosen up as the day goes on. Often a patient will even demonstrate their bent over walk to the bathroom in the morning, which I affectionately call the “old man shuffle,” in the treatment room.
So why are we so tight in the morning? Most of the time, it isn’t your bed or pillow that is making you stiff. Instead, there are changes occurring in your muscles, joints and spinal discs overnight as your body tries to heal from injuries.
One of the most common changes that happens in your muscles is the formation of “fuzz” or adhesions, in between the fibers of injured muscles as they try to heal at night. This occurs after an acute muscle injury (such as a sprain/strain) or after repetitive use injuries from having some muscles too tight and other muscles too weak. If these adhesions form in your muscles overnight, you feel tight and sore in the morning as you try to move and end of tearing some of the fibers. There really is no way to prevent this type of tightness except to keep your muscles properly balanced and to stretch on a regular basis.
If you feel like the stiffness is more in your joints and not in your muscles, you likely have some osteoarthritis causing you trouble. Arthritic joints can become swollen and stiff when they are not in motion — such as when you are sleeping. Because of fluid build-up, they joints stay stiff when you get up in the morning and often work themselves loose within a few steps. To prevent this type of tightness, try stretching before bed and also first thing in the morning to get your circulation going.
Spinal discs can also cause pain and stiffness in the morning. Since these discs are soft and squishy, they soak up extra fluid and moisture during the night when your spine is not under the compressive loads of gravity. When you stand up in the morning, gravity kicks back in and compresses all of the discs in your neck and back at once — causing stiffness, pain or even radiating pain down an arm or leg if there is disc disease present. If you have this type of morning discomfort, you must first treat the disc disease before you can expect the pain to go away. Most often, disc disease can be treated with Flexion/Distraction Chiropractic Manipulation, soft tissue manual therapies and therapeutic exercise to strengthen the muscles supporting the discs.
The next time you have to do the “old man shuffle” in the morning, try to figure out where your problem is coming from and see if you can get some relief by following the suggestions above. If you have any questions or seem to have morning stiffness on a frequent basis, feel free to ask questions by emailing me at drerin@ducatchiropractic.com.