Tightness or stiffness is not healthy, it’s a sign that something in your body is wrong, and the most likely cause is an unhealthy spine. When a muscle feels tight, often we try to remedy that by stretching or massaging it. More often than not, the tightness remains, but why? A muscle is what’s known as an ‘end-organ,’ which means it does what it’s told. When nerves controlling that muscle aren’t signaling properly, the muscle can’t function and will stay tight despite massages or stretching.

Stiff joints are usually the result of insufficient movement or age-related wear and tear. Because each joint in the body is connected, stiffness in a joint will most likely cause increased mobility or hypermobility in the surrounding joints. This is caused by the joints connected to stiff joint trying to compensate for the latter’s lack of movement. Hypermobility can cause further problems. This is due to imbalanced wear and tear on the overactive joints. 

Many factors can contribute to stiffness, all of which a chiropractor can help with, but in order to go a bit further, you can work on these things:

Posture
Lack of movement
Overuse or repetitive straining of muscles
Sleeping position

If you’re living with stiffness, it's time to talk about the best way for YOU to ease up on stiffness and gain some extra flexibility.