What is Stiffness?
By: Kelsie Mazur, DPT
Why do we feel stiff?
I won’t even try to pretend that we have a definite answer for why humans feel stiffness. The body’s sensations and signals are incredibly complex, but this is a super common question that I am frequently asked as a physical therapist. Stiffness is… complicated. Below I’ll do my best to outline why stiffness becomes something we notice either in our workouts, in the mornings after waking up, after a long drive, etc.
Stiffness/Tightness from working out:
After a challenging workout, your central nervous system (CNS) can become sensitized, meaning it's very aware that you just hit a PR, started a new squat program, or ran those extra miles. As a result, your brain and muscle tissues are in constant communication, making your body feel that "oof, this feels tight" sensation. This is commonly known as DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness. Sometimes, this soreness is a sign that your body needs a rest day for proper recovery. On other days, getting active and gently moving can help desensitize your system and reduce or even eliminate the soreness.
Stiffness as a protective mechanism:
This type of stiffness is super common, and may be the reason why you're seeing a physical therapist. Stiffness can be a result of your body saying “nope, that movement is too painful.” As a result, your body starts to avoid certain motions and over time that range of motion becomes less and less available. Now your body adapts to only moving in partial ranges of motion and not using certain muscles, so they start to feel tight and compromised in otherwise positions that may not have bothered you in the past.
Stiffness as a result of underuse:
Stiffness could be your body saying “hey, I want you to move.” Your body can also tell you this with the feelings that arise in those with osteoarthritis. Most often I hear about the morning stiffness or stiffness after a long road trip. The body hasn’t moved for a while because it’s been asleep or strapped in your seat but once the body gets moving, the stiffness usually subsides. Our bodies are amazing, they attempt to “protect” themselves from doing activities they don't feel fully prepared for, hence the morning stiffness when you first roll out of bed or before lifting. If you haven’t read my recent blog on why an appropriate warm up is vital to decreasing feelings of stiffness and avoiding injury, you can catch it here.
Are you constantly feeling stiff? Wattage Physical Therapy will take an in depth look at your ergonomics, posture, muscle tone, muscle weaknesses, and movement patterns to create a plan for YOU. If this article intrigues you, you can directly email me, Kelsie at Kelsie@wattagept.com. I would be happy to help you start the process of living a life free from pain.