Suffering from chronic pain can be a thing of the past.
Do you jump out of bed, ecstatic at the prospect of another new day, or do you lie there, terrified to move because of the anguish you’re sure to feel?
Aches and aches are never welcome, but they may truly dampen your mood if they start bothering you from the moment you wake up.
It’s useful to know why these aches and pains are happening in different places of your body, and how to avoid them using drug-free, non-invasive approaches like physical therapy at Albanese Physical Therapy!
Call our clinic in New Brighton today to request an appointment with one of our skilled physical therapists! We’re excited to meet with you and help you get on the path to feeling better, and enjoying your mornings once more.
Let’s start at the source…
Each area of the body has its own particular vulnerabilities to different kinds of morning pain.
Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide to help you figure out what’s going on.
- Hip pain. If you experience hip pain that feels like it’s coming from within the joint and is at its worst upon awakening, suspect osteoarthritis. If the pain feels like it’s on the outside of the hip and bothers you more at night, suspect bursitis.
- Heel pain. If taking those first steps in the morning is torture for your heels, but the pain then recedes as you walk around, you probably have chronic inflammation of the arches called plantar fasciitis.
- Neck pain. If you feel like someone tried to twist your head off during the night, you may have the wrong kind of pillow for your individual needs. Incorrect head and neck support can leave you with agonizing stiffness.
- Back pain. Pain can afflict any part of your back first thing in the morning. If you can barely move in the morning or never get quite comfortable at night, you may be using the wrong kind of mattress for your back.
- Jaw pain. When you wake up in the morning, does your jaw feel stiff and achy? Bruxism is a condition in which you grind your teeth or clench your jaw while sleeping. Emotional and physical stress are linked to this habit.
Our bodies build up inflammation in the tissues throughout the day. This can be extremely subtle and you may not notice it, even by the end of the day.
But when we lie down and go to sleep, the inflammation can thicken and settle into our muscles. This in turn immobilizes your joints and can lead to aches and pains when you wake up. That same process repeats, day after day.
Eventually, chronic pain can set in if you do not make any lifestyle changes to correct the problem. This is why it is a great idea to contact our physical therapy office for a consultation before the pain leads to more serious health problems,
Start your days off better with the help of physical therapy
Morning pain and overnight pain are closely related. Issues such as chronic lower back pain may nudge you into wakefulness many times each night, creating a twinge with every little body motion.
By the time you have to get up, you feel even more pain that you did when you went to bed!
A skilled physical therapist can assess your symptoms in depth, analyze how they relate to your sleep quality (or lack thereof), and determine the root causes.
This knowledge enables the development of a physical therapy program focused on removing or regulating the causes.
For example, we may find that your back requires a firmer or softer mattress, or that a customized cervical pillow might be beneficial to your neck.
Other tried-and-true physical therapy techniques can help you strengthen your back, manage bursitis, treat plantar fasciitis, and manage the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
We can even educate on stress-busting techniques to help your jaw, as well as which sleep positions are most likely to ease joint discomfort!
Food for thought: could it be your mattress?
According to Spine Health, “Sleeping on the wrong mattress can cause or worsen lower back pain. Lack of support from a mattress reinforces poor sleeping posture, strains muscles and does not help keep the spine in alignment, all of which contribute to low back pain.
Sleep comfort is also sacrificed if a mattress does not match one’s individual preferences. A mattress that provides both comfort and back support helps reduce low back pain, allowing the structures in the spine to really rest and rejuvenate during the night.”
If your mattress was once comfortable but now seems to be at the root of your aches and pains, it may be time to replace it. Physical changes like injuries, surgery and weight change can also change your body’s position as you sleep, necessitating a faster change in your mattress.
Pick up the phone and call our clinic today!
From conquering chronic pain sources to improving your “sleep hygiene,” you’ll find that physical therapy can help you ease morning aches and pains in a number of ways.
Don’t sleepwalk through life in a haze of chronic pain – wake up and contact our physical therapist for an evaluation!
Sources:
- https://houghtonphysicaltherapy.com/aches-and-pains-in-the-morning-find-out-what-might-be-causing-them/
- https://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/NewsNow/?blogid=10737418615&id=47244642134
- https://www.spine-health.com/wellness/sleep/chronic-pain-and-insomnia-breaking-cycle
- https://www.reboundmd.com/news/hip-bursitis-vs-hip-osteoarthritis-how-know-difference
- https://houghtonphysicaltherapy.com/aches-and-pains-in-the-morning-find-out-what-might-be-causing-them/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2934876/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354851
