Anyone else wake up with horrible lower back pain, then slowly loosen up during the day?
Morning back pain used to scare me more than the pain itself.
I'd wake up stiff, barely able to bend over, sitting on the toilet was awful, putting socks on felt like a workout, and I'd immediately think:
"Great… my back is getting worse."
But the weird thing was that after walking around and moving for a while, I'd usually loosen up and feel noticeably better later in the day.
For the longest time I thought I needed to stretch aggressively first thing in the morning, but honestly that usually just irritated things more.
What helped me most was accepting that my back sometimes just needed time to "warm up". A short walk, gentle movement and not panicking over every bad morning ended up helping way more than trying to force myself loose.
It also took me a while to realize that horrible mornings didn't necessarily mean I was getting worse. Some days were terrible, some were surprisingly good, and progress wasn't nearly as linear as I expected.
Anyone else have mornings as their worst time?
Also, I put together a short free guide around things that helped me navigate morning stiffness, flare-ups and sitting pain. Nothing for sale or anything like that, just stuff I wish someone had explained to me earlier. Happy to send it over if anyone wants it 😄