Morning stiffness refers to a prolonged stiffness of the diseased joint after waking up in the morning due to prolonged immobility, and a feeling of restricted joint movement like gluing. Morning stiffness is a subjective sensation of inflexible joint movement that can occur in rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and osteoarthritis, etc. It is non-specific and its duration is usually proportional to the severity of inflammation. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, morning stiffness can last for more than an hour, but when the primary disease is in remission, the duration of morning stiffness can be shortened and reduced. Morning stiffness in osteoarthritis is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, and usually worsens with increased activity, but can also be reduced with rest. Morning stiffness can be treated by biochemical blood tests, physical examinations (joint x-rays), and immunological tests to determine the cause of the disease. Patients who are suspected of having morning stiffness should consult a rheumatologist or orthopedic surgeon to find the cause of morning stiffness and actively treat the primary disease in order to alleviate the symptoms of morning stiffness at the root.
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