General Stiffness Especially In the Morning...

I've been running for two years now, I'm 43 years old (tomorrow), and I always wake up feeling really quite stiff; particularly my ankles.  My weekly mileage can vary from 25 miles to the occassional 50 miles a week and I don't have any problems (the odd niggle which goes away with rest maybe).

But I kinda have to hobble out of bed to the toilet (that's my bladder telling me I'm getting old) I'm that stiff.  I'm okay once I've moved about about, but the stiffness seems rather excessive.

Mrs Easy is a decent runner; a few years younger than me; and she doesn't have the same problems.

Is it my age, or is it summat else?  Ideas anyone?

It's not your age. 43 is far too young to be feeling stiff in the morning.

What do you do for a job? Do you sit down all day? Are you on your feet all day? What is your general posture and fitness like? Do you need a new mattress on your bed?

Have you seen your GP and discussed this with them? It really doesn't sound right to me but anything could be going on. Maybe a simple change will fix it.

The symptoms sound exactly the same as I had.

Turned out to be a calcium imbalance. Para-thyroidism.

Blood test reveals all, but only surgery fixes the problem.

Thanks RicF; that put the frighteners on me!   Smiling now though.  Note to self, asking for interweb diagnosis isn't good.

Interesting illness though that Parathyoidism:

"moans, groans, stones, and bones...with psychic overtones"

http://www.parathyroid.com/parathyroid-symptoms.htm

But I'm sure it's not.  My bones feel good; it's my tendons that are stiff and I've not got any of the other symptoms.

@Bex, I'm a window cleaner - so fairly physical - I rarely climb ladders these days; I use one of those new fangled Reach 'n' Wash systems with lightweight carbon fibre poles; so I keep moving, but it's not heavy work.  I even try to jog while working, whenever possible - to help with my fitness.

Maybe I'm just being a bit of a little girl about it?  

Bex Hill wrote (see)

It's not your age. 43 is far too young to be feeling stiff in the morning.

 

I'm 39 I still wake most mornings extremely stiff!  thought it was a good thing!

Easy does it, most of the posters on here who jump in are middle class office walla's who sit down all day, they have no concept of real work and believe stiff joints can only be caused by not moving, by being on your feet in your job you're probably doing 2 or 3 times the exercise they do, basically you're knackered! Either get used to it, which you will in time, just takes longer the older you get, or do less.

EDI, sorry about that. Should have added that the condition is so rare in guys as to be almost nil.

lardarse wrote (see)

Bex Hill wrote (see)

It's not your age. 43 is far too young to be feeling stiff in the morning.

 

I'm 39 I still wake most mornings extremely stiff!  thought it was a good thing!

Easy does it, most of the posters on here who jump in are middle class office walla's who sit down all day, they have no concept of real work and believe stiff joints can only be caused by not moving, by being on your feet in your job you're probably doing 2 or 3 times the exercise they do, basically you're knackered! Either get used to it, which you will in time, just takes longer the older you get, or do less.

Thanks, though I spent a good few years as an office wallah, (accountancy and pay roll management) and I used to get home far more tired and stressed than what I do these days.

Looks like I'll have to get used with it! 

How about trying a few mustard baths? It's a traditional remedy for tired bodies:

http://naturecure.ygoy.com/2008/11/27/mustard-bath-benefits/

I have exactly the same problem.  I'm 41, run approx 25 - 50 miles a week too and find I'm creaking when I get out of bed but loosen up after moving around a little.  I work in a primary school and am never, ever sat about (I do physio on a child every day too).

I've recently started taking glucosamine and cod liver oil but am waiting to see if it helps.  My dad swore by glocosamine over 25 years ago before it became well known so fingers crossed.

I'm only 39 and I've noticed a general stiffening up over the last few years. I'm overall very flexible (borderline hypermobile) and I do a lot of stretching/t'ai chi/swimming but in the mornings it definitely takes me longer than it once did to limber up and get going.

For alot of peeps north of 40 this is very, very normal.

Morning stiffness (!) is generally due to a very low grade inflammatory process that's ongoing due to your weekly milage or use. Your joints are in decline, albeit very, very slowly.

During the day our resting blood pressure keeps the amount of inflammatory exudate/grot in check by constanly moving it on. When you sleep, your blood prerssure drops and becomes labile and so the amount of inflammatory grot pools and stay in one place.

When you wake up your BP rises, when you get up the rise in BP increases because your head is now higher than your heart - the pooling inflammatory grot is now on the move and you feel the residual stiffness.

Stop running and it will stop....don't stop running, wear great shoes and modify what you do and it'll all be dandy. It's not overtraining but it's under recovery...

Hi I'm 43, run every day and feel great! Untill two years ago I was feeling very tired, stiff and slow in recovery. A friend of mine gave me nutritional advice, since then I'm taking daily multivitamins, anti-oxidant and Omega3, all of them in gel (www.agel.com) and feel great