Do you greet the morning with a smile, or do you wince in anticipation of the pain you’re about to experience? If the first motions you make to start your day are painful enough to make you think twice about getting out of bed, you’re certainly not alone. A variety of conditions can cause morning aches and pains. The good news is that you can get that discomfort out of your way through some simple physical therapy techniques. Check out the three exercises recommended in this article — and then contact Therapy Choice to see one of our physical therapists for more tips and treatments!
Tight muscles and stiff joints only become tighter and stiffer with inactivity. You might sleep through the night without ever realizing that your back, neck, shoulders, or other parts of the body are being affected by hours of stillness. Common overnight processes that can lead to morning aches and pains include:
Morning aches and pains can often indicate a specific underlying health problem that needs to be treated. For instance, back pain that is at its worst first thing in the morning, only to clear up after you’ve been up for a while, could be spondyloarthritis (inflammatory back pain). Morning pain accompanied by crushing fatigue could be a sign of fibromyalgia. Heel pain that hobbles you until you’ve been walking around for a moment indicated an inflammatory tissue problem called plantar fasciitis. Swollen joints on both sides of the body, accompanied by redness or fever, may mean rheumatoid arthritis.
Just as ongoing physical therapy can help you manage a variety of chronic pain conditions, specific physical therapy exercises can help you ease those morning aches and pains. Depending on the cause of your morning misery, our physical therapist may prescribe a variety of safe, simple exercises that you can perform in the comfort of your own home. Here are three physical therapy exercises that just might make your morning brighter:
These and other physical therapy techniques can help you greet the day with a smile instead of a groan. Contact Therapy Choice to see one of our physical therapists today!