Joint stiffness takes place if your joints lack the mobility to move smoothly through their full range of motion.
When you have stiff joints, it can be difficult and sometimes painful to move parts of your body.
Joint stiffness also often occurs alongside muscle tightness, which further limits your range of motion and flexibility.
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These could be signs of an injury, infection, or autoimmune condition.
This can limit your ability to move and coordinate different parts of your body.
Osteoarthritis most commonly affects the neck, back, fingers and hands, knees, and hips.
How to Treat Joint Stiffness
Treatment for joint stiffness will differ depending on the underlying cause.
Cortisone injections are anti-inflammatory steroid medications that can help decrease inflammation and related stiffness and pain.
If left untreated, these issues can progress and lead to serious and sometimes permanent joint damage and disability.
Are There Tests to Diagnose the Cause of Joint Stiffness?
These are signs that you may have a serious infection or flare-up of an autoimmune attack.
Joint stiffness from autoimmune conditions often requires special medications given through IV infusions to help control chronic joint inflammation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arthritis can cause joint stiffness by causing joint inflammation from the breakdown of cartilage.
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