Morning Pain with Afternoon Relief (Question from Our Facebook Community)
A community member in our Facebook group asked: Does anybody find their mornings are really painful and evenings much better?
I find I wake at 330-4 AM and it’s just so hard to change from side laying to on my back because of back and hip pain ( the hip pain moves side to side - I never know if Leftie or Righty will be my challenge on any given day). When I do get up I hobble ( the family calls it the “papa shuffle” because my dad had something similar and now I walk like he used to, at least for a little while each morning). But the more I move the better. I finally invested in an Apple Watch and it prods me to just stand during the day. It is good. Movement over time is SO HELPFUL!! It doesn’t say do a mile or a marathon. It just says stand. It says breathe. I find these little reminders SO helpful! I sit for my work ( used to be an athlete go get ‘em nurse!) and this is not good. Movement helps. By evenings on most days I do feel better.
My advice. Movement. Not a marathon. Not a work out. Simple. Gentle. Movement. Peace all ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing your strategies for dealing with morning pain and stiffness. It is very validating to hear when others with this condition also experience worse symptoms in the morning! It is a common phenomenon with AS. I've found that using a yoga bolster during sleep (propped between my knees, almost like a body pillow) helps cut down on my hip pain during the night. I believe this is because it keeps my hips level. I appreciate your suggestion to move but not push too hard—it doesn't have to be a whole work out. A little movement does us good and is much better than nothing. Great advice!
Yes, often for me as the day moves on I am better able to move. Not everyday of course, sometimes I am just as immobile in the evening as I am in the morning.
Still most days motion is lotion and being active helps me to move more each day.
