Morning stiffness from arthritis can be an absolute burden at the start of a day. Many suffer from this, unfortunately. This stiffness usually disrupts getting dressed for the day, bathing, cooking breakfast and managing to make it to work or appointments on time. There are a few ways to make morning routines less painful and easier to get through when battling arthritis.

Medication
Medication for relief should be prepared the night before and be available bedside. Before even rising out of bed for the day, take medication to start relieving any stiffness or pain.

Stretching
It’s recommended to stretch and warm joints up before getting out of bed. You can do this by gently stretching your arms out and having your hands flex back and forth, bending your knees and extending your legs, flexing your toes to a ballet point a few times and moving your head around requiring your neck to let loose. Body movement can help with loosening up any joints.

Heat
Heat is known for helping morning stiffness ease up. Having a heating pad bedside, taking a warm bath or shower and even using a dryer to warm clothes up can help with heat being applied to joints. For bathing grab bars and showers, chairs can be hugely beneficial in making bathing easier while battling stiffness.

Clothes
Having easy clothes is the best option for those that suffer from stiff joints. These easy clothes include stretchy fabric that does not need buttons or zippers, front opening clothing, large buttons or zippers on clothes, slip-on shoes, and Velcro or elastic-banded shoes.

Preparing clothes the night before can help a lot with dressing as it won’t put as much work on the stiff joints. When getting dressed it’s recommended to sit down and dress using weaker limbs first. If there are any tools available such as sock aids, long shoe horns or button hooks use them to help with stress relief from your hands.

Prevention
Exercise is a big preventative measure that can be taken. It’s best to exercise on a regular basis to improve health, maintain a healthy weight, increase flexibility and help with motion range. If you are a smoker it is best to quit now. Smoking affects connective tissues, bones and joints. Quitting this help can help ease pain and stiffness from arthritis.

No matter what type of arthritis you have it’s better to do what you can to prevent and help any stiffness or pain you may suffer from. Planning ahead and adjusting your morning routines can make a huge difference.