Are you a person who wakes up in the morning and your joints feel hard to move,
like stiff fingers that are hard to bend? It may also affect the wrists, ankles, toes, neck,
and lower back. You feel like the lubricant in your joints has turned from liquid to jelly.
This symptom is known as “morning stiffness,” and it may be a sign of a serious disease.
Today, I will answer seven questions about morning stiffness:
Why does it happen? Is it only in the
morning or can it happen during the day too? How do I know if I have a serious condition?
Do I need any blood tests or X-rays?
Which doctor should I see for morning stiffness? Are there any home-based remedies that I can use?
Do I need a prescription medication to treat this problem?
Watch this video to the end and I’ll tell you where to download
a handout containing a summary of this video. So, let’s talk about morning stiffness today.
First question. Why do the
joints of my hands feel stiff in the morning? We have many small joints in the hands,
feet and spine. These joints have a synovial fluid that lubricates the bones to move smoothly.
This synovial fluid is contained inside a capsule. The inner part of the capsule produces this fluid.
The more we move the joint, the more fluid is produced.
Remember, Motion is Lotion. So, during the night, or after
prolonged periods of immobilization, there is less production of synovial fluid. This is similar to
crystallized honey. The fluid is thick. Now, if we warm it up, the honey will become more liquid.
This is the same with our joints. When we wake up in the morning,
our fluid is thick, and it takes time to warm it up and turn it into fluid again.
BEFORE I CONTINUE, let me remind you that this video is not intended to provide medical advice,
it is for educational purposes only. If you have a medical condition that requires treatment,
please talk to your doctor to get a treatment plan for you. And if there
is any emergency, please go to the nearest emergency department or call an ambulance.
Question two. Does stiffness happen only in the morning or can it happen during the day too?
Joint stiffness happens after a prolonged period of immobilization,
which is why it is more common in the morning. But if the person is bedridden, or has any other
condition that they don’t move their joints too much, they may also feel stiffness.
Question three. How do you know if you have a serious condition or not?
This is best determined by talking to your doctor. In general, if the hand stiffness lasts a few
minutes, it is most likely osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a low-grade inflammation
that will damage the joint cartilage and the production of synovial fluid over many years.
When the morning stiffness lasts more than 60 minutes, then this is
an indication of a serious condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis.
These are auto-immune diseases and they tend to damage the cartilage very quickly. However,
if the diagnosis is confirmed and the doctor gives you medication to stop the inflammation,
then you can stop the damage to the joint. When morning stiffness affects the spine,
this is an indication of a serious condition like ankylosing spondylitis.
The treatment to stop ankylosing spondylitis is similar to the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
Question four. Do you need a blood test or x-ray? If your doctor suspects that you have one of these
serious conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis,
then they may ask for blood tests and x-rays. These tests and x-rays will help them to make
the correct diagnosis and to provide an idea of the stage of the disease if it is in the beginning
or is more advanced. This is important to select the most appropriate treatment.
Question five. Which doctor should you see if you have morning stiffness?
Your family doctor is the best person for you to see. They are trained physicians who can diagnose
the cause of the stiffness. If they need help, they may ask the opinion of a rheumatologist,
these are specialists who are experts in joints, cartilage problems, and arthritis.
But there might be a wait time for you to see the specialist, so while waiting for the consult,
your family doctor may start some treatment to reduce your stiffness.
Question six. Are there home-based remedies that you can use?
Yes, there are many things you can do at home to improve the symptoms of morning stiffness.
First, apply heat to your joints first thing in the morning. You may use a hot water bag
like this one, or a wax bath for more severe cases. You can purchase a paraffin wax machine.
It is great for maintaining the joints warm and the skin hydrated. I’ll put a link to
this machine in the description of this video below if you are interested in purchasing it.
Second, after you apply heat for 10 to 30 minutes, you may start doing some range of
motion exercises. For the hands,
you can do finger flexion and extension. Also, finger adduction and abduction.
And last, thumb opponency with each of the other fingers.
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Then, with your wrist, you can do flexion and extension.
And rotation, first clockwise, then counter clock-wise.
If you have morning stiffness in other joints like the hips or knees, watch my other video where I
demonstrate morning exercises you can do in bed. If you have stiffness in your ankles and foot,
you may watch this video that I have of exercises for ankle arthritis.
When you sleep at night, it is important that you position yourself well in bed to avoid
situations where you block the fluid of your hands or you compress a nerve during sleep.
Watch my other video about sleep positions for people with pain.
If you know someone who have morning stiffness,
send this video to them. There is a share button here.
Question seven. Do you need a prescription medication to treat morning stiffness?
There is no medication to resolve joint stiffness, but there are treatments for rheumatoid arthritis,
psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. If your doctor prescribes these medications for
you, you may observe that once the disease is under control, you will feel less morning
stiffness. These serious conditions like RA, SpA, and AS cause severe arthritis,
which is an inflammatory process that reduces the synovial fluid a lot. So, by treating the cause of
these symptoms, the stiffness will be relieved. The medications that doctors use to treat
rheumatoid arthritis are drugs like biologics, hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, steroids,
sulfasalazine and leflunomide. If you are interested in natural
treatments for joint stiffness, then talk to a naturopath doctor or your pharmacist. There
are some supplements and herbal treatments that might help to reduce stiffness from arthritis.
Watch my other video about turmeric and curcumin. Turmeric is a natural spice,
commonly used in Indian dishes. It has a bright yellow colour and a peculiar smell and taste.
It has some anti-infammatory properties and has been used by people with rheumatoid arthritis.
If you continue having morning stiffness after you initiate treatment for your arthritis,
then you may need to talk to an occupational therapist. They are healthcare professionals
who can help you to adapt to this situation. For example, they can guide you through buying
some splints or orthotics that will help to maintain your joints in a good position at night.
If your morning stiffness is interfering with your routine, like getting the kids to school
or arriving on time at work, you may need to set up your alarm clock an hour earlier, to give you
time to prepare for your morning chores. Morning stiffness is usually not painful,
but if you have pain associated with it, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. You may need to
take some painkillers like acetaminophen or paracetamol, or anti-inflammatories.
If you need anti-inflammatories, I suggest you use topical creams,
especially when there are small areas of pain. I hope you enjoyed this video. To download
the FREE handout go to my website: www. doctorandreafurlan.com /arthritis
Here are other videos from my channel that you can watch.
See you next time. Goodbye!