Thread: What do you do for early morning aches and pains?

Maybe it's getting older, maybe it's the lack of sleep from parenting an infant, maybe it's the fact that it's been raining for a week straight....but I find I am waking up more and more mornings feeling achy in my joints. For me, the aches and pains are focused in my hands, knees, and hips. It's certainly nothing debilitating but it is annoying.

I take a glucosamine supplement daily and try to avoid processed foods. What else helps with this? Are there stretching exercises or something that can help a person feel more human and mobile in the morning?

How old are you? do you have any medical conditions or old injuries?

I find that gentle stretching before I get out of bed helps a lot. (Animals must know something that we don't, all of my dogs stretch out as soon as they wake up!) I have more pain in my ankles and knees than anywhere else, so flexing at the ankles and straightening the knees seems to get things moving a big more and I have less achiness. When I stand, I'll stretch my shoulders and back and then my arms. But I'm sure most of my aches and pains are from age. You may be tensing up at night while you sleep, waiting for the baby to cry, so a little bit of stretching might help relieve the tension.

And speaking of the baby - what a little cutie-pie! Charmed me right out of my sandals with that adorable little smile of his!

Epsom salt baths, sometimes 2 a day if needed!!

Originally Posted by mish_mish

How old are you? do you have any medical conditions or old injuries?

No old injuries, a touch of plantar fascitis but very well managed, 33.

Originally Posted by donnadiva

I find that gentle stretching before I get out of bed helps a lot. (Animals must know something that we don't, all of my dogs stretch out as soon as they wake up!) I have more pain in my ankles and knees than anywhere else, so flexing at the ankles and straightening the knees seems to get things moving a big more and I have less achiness. When I stand, I'll stretch my shoulders and back and then my arms. But I'm sure most of my aches and pains are from age. You may be tensing up at night while you sleep, waiting for the baby to cry, so a little bit of stretching might help relieve the tension.

And speaking of the baby - what a little cutie-pie! Charmed me right out of my sandals with that adorable little smile of his!

Donna, you may have a point here. I normally sleep like a rock, but I am kind of waiting for him to need me, which has affected my quality of sleep. I'll try to do a little movement before getting up and see if it helps...

I second Aradia regarding the epsom salt baths. The epsom is magnesium, which is so good for muscles and joints.

No house work while the baby is napping during the day. Sleep when the baby sleeps so you get as much sleep as you can.

When I practice and teach allot I tend to get aches and pains in the mornings. Sometimes I take astaxanthin for some periods of time to help my body through tough times. :)

"What do you do for early morning aches and pains?"

Move carefully until I see if they're staying for the day or not!

Warm bath every time.
Glucosamine
Fish oils

I second the stretching. If you're not sure what to do, try attending some gentle yoga classes to get some ideas. I always wake up stiff (I'm just made that way), and I find stretching out both before bed and first thing really helps me get going. I have a shower at night and a good stretch before bed, then more gentle exercises in the morning - rotating the joints and doing big, easy stretches like bending a bit sideways, downward facing dog, moving head from side to side, etc.

Hey, wouldn't it be great if you could find a mother-and-baby yoga class?

When I was in my mid-30's I went through a bout of TERRIBLE joint/muscle pain. Mine would come on randomly during the day, usually at the hands/wrists or ankles/feet and then spread inward toward my hips, one joint at a time.

It was debilitating. I'd have to leave my cart at the store and go home because suddenly I could barely stand to walk.

I went through tests for lupus, lyme disease, all sorts of things. During that time, I realized my pain was very much tied to exhaustion and stress. At the time I was running a struggling business, often working 120 hours a week, and raising two kids. I found that if I forced myself to cut back on work and get plenty of sleep, I wouldn't have the 'attacks.' Gradually they subsided and I haven't had one in ten years.

My doctor said it wasn't uncommon 'for a woman my age' (ahem -- first time I ever had to hear that phrase, I was only 35!!!) and called it Transitory Arthritic Something-or-other.

I don't know if your aches and pains are connected to something like that or not, but you might try journaling a little to discover whether your pain is connected to lack of sleep, or stress, or particular foods.

I have morning stiffness too (back, knees and all over) at age 33 also. We got a new bed thinking that was the culprit, but it's been 3 months and I'm still achy most mornings.

These might be of interest:

Tropical Treat for Joint Pain - RealAge Tip of the Day
and
6 Foods That Knees Dig - RealAge Tip of the Day

How long have you been a dancer? If you have danced all your life you will have some early onset of arthritis, I've discovered that's the case with my body, I take Dr. Christopher's joint formula, it's a whole food supplement so no synthetics that your body can't break down. I put my Dad on it after a car accident left him with an injured back, it has done wonders for him!!

My aches and pains went away when I stopped eating wheat and other things with gluten in them.

Lack of sleep will definitely cause joint pain. I find that even after one night of interrupted sleep my joints will bother me. Hate to say it, but you might be living with this until your baby is a reliable sleeper-through-the-night and you can relax and get quality sleep once again. Sorry!!!

UNTIL THEN -- gentle stretching and movement will help you stay mobile...NSAIDs? Can you take those while you're nursing? Or white willow bark...?

First I curse the gods and ask what I did to piss them off. Then I do some serious stretching. If after a bit that doesn't work, I have some meds that my doc gave me for my arthritis that I can take but I don't really like to take them so I try to avoid that. Hot showers can work to.

My little sister experienced this after all three of her babies. It turned out that she was sleeping really tense cause she was always waiting for the babies to cry. Now that they are a little older and sleep through the night and all that, she does not have this problem as much.