Morning Aches and Pains

Morning Aches and Pains

Jack LaLanne doesn’t feel your pain. “You gotta get up in the morning, count your blessings, and get moving. That’s the key to living pain-free,” he says.

“I don’t even think about morning pain. I just get up and begin living. I kick my butt out of bed every morning, go work out for a couple of hours, and then just do what I have to do,” says the octogenarian fitness guru. “Too many people dwell on their aches and pains. Well, don’t dwell on them. Get up and do something about it. If you give in to your aches and pains, pretty soon you’ll be a goner. Anything in life is possible if you make it happen. God helps those who help themselves. Help the most important person in this world—you!”

Okay, so it may be a lot easier for a real-life man of steel like Jack LaLanne to get going in the morning. And certainly Jack, who once swam 1½ miles while handcuffed, shackled, and towing 70 boats, is more gung ho than most people his age. But his message about being active every day, experts say, is right on target.

“An older person doesn’t necessarily have to jump out of bed, dash to the gym, and do a workout every morning. But certainly, if you become more active in your daily life and have a positive attitude about what you are doing, you’ll be less prone to joint pain and muscle stiffness,” says Wayne Phillips, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Researchers aren’t certain how prevalent morning stiffness is among older Americans. If you have it, it could be a sign of overactivity and injury or an underlying illness such as rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory conditions of muscles or joints. But in many cases, morning stiffness is merely a stern warning from your body that you may be, in fact, underusing your body in daily activities, says Maria A. Fiatarone Singh, M.D., associate professor of nutrition at Tufts University and a scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts in Boston.

In fact, the sedentary lifestyles that many seniors lead can provide an open invitation to morning aches and stiffness. As we age, many of us become less active. As a result, bones become more brittle, tendons lose flexibility, range of motion decreases, and muscles shrink and become weaker. These changes in the musculoskeletal system can make it difficult to do simple activities of daily living that require stretching, bending, or turning, making you feel like you are stiff all over at times. If your neighbor spends her days lounging by the pool instead of swimming in it, then sleeps on a worn-out mattress all night, you shouldn’t be too surprised when she complains about aches and pains in the morning, says Dr. Singh.

Sometimes, simply taking a warm shower or having a massage can ease an occasional morning ache, she says. But if dawn’s early light heralds the onset of persistent pains, you’ll want to advise your doctor of this symptom. If nothing serious can be found after a medical examination, check out these remedies.

Try This First

Uncoil tight muscles. Stretching or flexibility exercises can reduce body pain and increase muscular relaxation, which can improve blood circulation, Dr. Phillips says.

Start your day with a gentle stretch in bed. Raise your arms over your head as you curl your toes toward the footboard, Dr. Phillips suggests. Then, roll up on your side and sit on the edge of the bed, take a couple of deep breaths, and stretch your hands over your head again. For a more prolonged morning stretch routine that will do your joints, muscles, and bones a world of good, see “Waking Up Your Flex Life” on page 376.

Other Wise Ways

Get a bungee cord. Some seniors have difficulty doing stretches properly because it is hard for them to bend their arms or legs into certain positions. If you have this problem, try using a bungee cord, suggests Louis Sportelli, D.C., chiropractor in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, and former public affairs spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association. These cheap elastic cords, available at most hardware stores, can make it easier for you to stretch without overtaxing your muscles and joints. You can also buy specially designed stretch cords for exercising, available at sporting goods stores, he says.

To stretch your hip muscles, for instance, sit in a sturdy chair and make a loop with a bungee cord, interlocking the J-shaped metal loops around a chair leg. Slip your right foot into the circle formed by the bungee. Keeping your thigh flat on the chair seat, press your right foot against this restraint, moving your lower leg outward and away from your body until your leg is straight out and parallel with the ground. Hold for a count of 10, then return to the starting position.

Repeat this stretch five times, then switch to your left foot, Dr. Sportelli suggests. Try to do this exercise three times with each leg several times daily. People with arthritis of the knee or ankle, or with hip, knee, or ankle replacements, need to consult their doctors before beginning any exercise program.

To stretch your shoulders, attach the bungee cord to a doorknob and stand with your body perpendicular to and 6 to 18 inches from the door. Pull the cord across your body with your right hand. Hold the cord taut for a count of 10, then return to your starting position. Repeat this stretch five times, then switch to your left hand, Dr. Sportelli says. This exercise also should be done three times with each arm. People with arthritis of the shoulder or with shoulder replacements should check with their doctors before trying to do this exercise.

Rock on. Get a rocker, Dr. Sportelli says. Rocking in a chair helps increase circulation to your legs and may prevent muscle cramps in the morning. The rocking motion from the toe to the heel helps create a milking action that helps return blood to the heart. People who have blood clots should first check with their doctors.

Toss your pillow. If you consistently wake up with neck aches or headaches, your pillow may be the culprit, suggests Dr. Sportelli. If your pillow is too thick, your head and neck might be slightly flexed while you’re sleeping. This position straightens your neck and pulls on the muscles and ligaments that support it, causing pain and often morning stiffness and headache. A thin pillow that you can curl under your neck so it supports both your head and neck is a better choice, according to Dr. Sportelli.

Bounce the bed. If your mattress is more than seven years old, consider getting a new one, advises Dr. Sportelli. Even if the covering still looks okay, the springs are probably worn out and not supporting your body as well as they should. So you’re more susceptible to morning pain.

When you shop for a new mattress, look for one that has individually wrapped coil springs. It will provide better support than other mattresses, Dr.Sportelli says. It is important to also change your box spring when you change your mattress.

Stretch your imagination, too. Visualizations or imagery are alternative approaches that may help your mind and body work together to conquer morning pain, says Dennis Gersten, M.D., who practices psychiatry and metabolic medicine in the San Diego area and is the author of Are You Getting Enlightened or Losing Your Mind? and publisher of Atlantis: The Online Imagery Newsletter.

When you awaken, picture your morning pain as a ball that has a particular size, shape, color, and texture, Dr. Gersten says. It may be as small as a marble or as large as a basketball. Allow the ball to grow larger and larger. As it does, your morning pain may momentarily increase. Now let the ball shrink smaller than its original size, but don’t let it disappear. As the intensity of the pain changes, allow the ball to change color, too.

Now imagine that the ball turns into a liquid that flows down your arm, drips on the floor, and reforms as a ball. Kick or throw the ball out into space. Watch it disappear. Most of your pain should dissipate as the ball soars off into infinity. Dr. Gersten suggests doing this imagery for 10 minutes twice a day—when you wake up and just before bed.