Many patients tell us that they get up in the morning feeling stiff and sore yet after 10-20 minutes of showering and moving around, feel ok. By lunchtime, they are ok unless they sit down for a while, in which case, they become stiff again.
To feel better, they may go for a walk, swim, stretch, ride a bike, go to the gym etc. All feels well until they rest or go to bed. Even in bed, they may have some trouble rolling over and become convinced that they must move around the next day-even more than before!
Unless you are an elderly person, where this pattern is somewhat normal, you are making yourself worse by pushing yourself more. The stiffness and soreness you feel after rest is an inflammatory response to the activities pursued that day or the previous days. The activity or activities have simply stirred up those areas that feel stiff after rest and your goal needs to be the achievement of some HEALING.
As tissues heal, the stiffness and soreness after rest will gradually diminish and you will feel better for the rest, not worse. Think of a cut on your skin. It is initially tight when you rest it but after more days of protection, it heals and you have normal movement and function restored.
Ask our Physiotherapists what activities may be irritating your soft tissues and inflaming them. It could be your running action, your gardening, your computer chair or your writing style. Alter these patterns and your tissues will start to heal and inflammation will reduce.
By all means, keep active but perhaps some modification is needed.