Almost everybody experiences days where it can be a little rough getting up in the morning. Mornings can often be filled with aches and pains that might make the individual less than enthusiastic about starting their day. While in some cases this could be a sign of a medical condition, for the most part it is a very normal part of the human experience and this is especially true as we grow older. However, there are steps that can be taken to prevent and relieve the aches and stiffness that so often come with waking in the morning.

The most common areas for a person to experience stiffness in the morning is in the neck and the back and this stiffness and discomfort can be caused or contributed to by a variety of different factors. It could be the lingering effect of an injury, it could come from a particularly strenuous activity that you regularly engage in and it could be the result of how you position your body during certain activities. To some degree, the answer to preventing and relieving this stiffness is going to vary from person to person.

Exercise and Stretch

One of the best remedies that you will find to relieve and prevent stiffness of the neck and back is exercise and stretching. Exercises that work on the range of motion for these areas of the body and ones that promote circulation will be especially effective. When you get up in the morning, your body has been in the same position for a considerable amount of time. Starting the day off with some mild exercise and stretching can go a long way toward relieving and preventing stiffness of the neck and back.

Sleeping position

The way that you sleep can be a significant contributing factor toward stiffness of the neck and back. To prevent this problem, the best positions for sleep are either on your back or on your side. However, you will also need to ensure that you have pillows that will keep your neck and shoulder muscles relaxed while you are sleeping. Having the head elevated too high or too low in relation to the body can also contribute to a stiff neck or back. Even if you sleep in the best position possible, there is still a possibility that you will be stiff or achy in the morning, but choosing a good sleeping position will reduce the stiffness and limit the problems.

General lifestyle

A lot of things that a person does throughout the course of an ordinary day can contribute to the problem. If you have poor posture, it can cause chronic back and neck pain or stiffness. You may also want to consider the way that you handle your duties at work and how well you eat. The reality is that, how well you feel in the morning, is in many ways the result of how well you treat your body throughout the day and through the course of life in general.

An effective solution to help eliminate and relieve stiffness of the neck and back in the morning and throughout the day is to visit a chiropractor. Of course, the chiropractor will provide treatments like manual adjustments to improve the health and alignment of the spine, but they will also touch on the many factors that can cause the aches and pains of the morning. A chiropractor can give you the lifestyle advice that you need in regard to things like nutrition and posture, they can prescribe exercise that will help to relieve and prevent stiffness and they can also give you advice that can help to improve your sleeping habits.