Why am I stiff in the morning?

25/5/2017

Often times, my patients at Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, CA complain of experiencing body stiffness immediately after waking up. We can look at that in two ways:

1. Stiffness in the morning is normal for a short period of time. As we wake up, our bodies are naturally inclined to stretch and with good reason. While stretching, our bodies send a signal to the brain saying that it is time to relax the joints.

2. Just like when we put a car into the parking gear and set the hand break to prevent it from going anywhere, our bodies produce chemicals that paralyze the muscles and joints when we fall asleep; that is the parking gear of our body.

So why are we stiff after waking up?

From the first point of view, if your joints are subluxated or in a locked position, the messages your body sends to the brain, indicating that it is time to relax the muscles, are blocked by the the subluxated joints, therefore prolonging the time that the body remains stiff.

From the second point of view, the body's inability to get rid of the chemicals produced during sleep, will also prolong the time that the body remains stiff. The body itself produces 70% of toxins in our bodies. Those chemicals that keep us still during sleep must be disposed of by the liver after waking up. If the body does not detox itself of those chemicals, it's like driving a car while the hand break is on.

If you are experiencing stiffness after waking up, visit your local chiropractor. A competent doctor of chiropractic can determine if you have inflamed or subluxated joints. He/She may suggest a detox of the internal organs or a visit to an acupuncturist for further treatment to detox the liver and kidneys.

Please watch the video below produced by Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh, DC.