Why Your Knees Feel So Stiff in the Morning (& How to Fix It)

Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis specialist physio, shows us how:

Undoing the damage

Why morning stiffness happens: your joints are immobile for several hours during sleep, so joint fluid doesn’t circulate as well, inflammation and swelling can settle, and your muscles tighten with inactivity.

What to do to fix it, in few words: improve circulation, lubricate your knee joints, loosen tight muscles, and prepare your body for walking before taking your first steps.

As for how to do that, these will cover it:

• Ankle pumps: lie on your back and point your toes towards you, then away from you to increase blood flow and prepare your knees for movement.
• Heel slides: lie on your back and slowly slide your heel towards your buttocks, then straighten your leg to gently improve your knee’s bending range of motion.
• Supine marches: lie with your knees bent and feet on the bed, gently press your lower back into the bed, then alternately lift each leg as high as comfortable to activate your core and hip flexors.
• Knee extensions: sit on the edge of the bed and slowly straighten one knee as much as comfortable, then lower it to improve your knee’s ability to fully straighten.
• Sit-to-stands: from the edge of the bed, slowly stand up and sit back down, using your hands for support if needed, to prepare your thigh and glute muscles for walking.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!