Why do I get stiff joints in the morning?

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Morning stiffness sorts by how long it lasts, and that one number drives the diagnosis. Stiffness easing within about 30 minutes: the wear-and-tear pattern - osteoarthritis - where joints gel overnight after years of use, loosening as you move, typically in knees, hips, fingers, and the lower back, worse after big activity days. NIAMS describes osteoarthritis exactly this way: brief morning stiffness and pain with use. Stiffness lasting an hour or more, especially in the small joints of both hands, symmetrically, with swelling or warmth: the inflammatory pattern - rheumatoid arthritis and its cousins - where the immune system is inflaming the joint lining, and early treatment changes the long-term outcome substantially.

For the wear-and-tear kind: movement is the medicine - a warm shower and gentle range-of-motion first thing, regular low-impact exercise, weight management where relevant, and warmth on stiff joints. For the inflammatory pattern: do not self-manage for months - see a provider for blood tests and imaging, because modern inflammatory-arthritis treatment works best started early.

The flags beyond duration: joints that are hot, red, and swollen; stiffness with fever, rash, or unexplained weight loss; a single joint suddenly hot and exquisitely painful - that is gout or infection, same-day; and stiffness with numb hands - the carpal tunnel overlap. Under-30-minute stiffness that tracks activity: the movement prescription stands.

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Why do I get stiff joints in the morning?

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