Severe morning stiffness can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose severe morning stiffness, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia | 90% | Confirm |
Low Testosterone | 20% | Unlikely |
Poor Musculoskeletal Health | 0% | Ruled out |
How severe is your morning stiffness in terms of pain and inability to move?
Possible responses:
→ I don't have morning stiffness / don't know→ It's no problem - slight discomfort without pain → Mild stiffness - not too difficult to get moving → Moderate stiffness - it takes effort to get moving → Severe stiffness - I feel like I really can't move |
Severe morning stiffness can be caused by a variety of factors such as sleeping in a bad position or in a cold/damp environment. Chronic morning stiffness is often caused by arthritis, which is a condition of poor musculoskeletal health.