Stiff Fingers in the Morning: Why and What to Do?

Why is it more difficult to bend the fingers in the morning than in the evening?

Several entirely normal phenomena can make you feel your fingers are stiffer in the morning than in the evening, even without any specific disease. Here they are:

1. Stiffness related to inactivity during the night: While you sleep, your joints can remain immobile for long periods, leading to a sensation of morning stiffness.

Especially in the fingers that move less at night but are more active during the day.

2. Accumulation of joint fluid (synovial fluid): Some people may have a slight accumulation of fluid in the joints overnight.

The accumulated fluid slightly compresses tissues and muscles, causing this stiffness. As the day progresses with movement, it redistributes elsewhere, and the fingers become more mobile, less stiff.

This accumulation can be due to a rheumatic disease such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis (but it is by no means a sufficient sign to diagnose a disease!).

3. Lower body temperature: Your body temperature is generally lower in the morning. Tissues and joints may react to colder temperatures by becoming stiffer.

Once the body warms up and becomes more active, morning stiffness can decrease.

4. Age: As you age, you may experience a sensation of difficulty bending your fingers, especially around your forties or fifties, although it varies widely among individuals.

Why? With age, the fluid in the joints decreases, giving the sensation that “it bends less.”

The same applies to the cartilage in each joint, which naturally wears down, making movements less easy.

With age, elasticity in muscles and tendons is also lost.

That’s why sometimes it’s simply the “advancing age” that triggers this sensation, and not necessarily a disease.

Some people are naturally more affected by these phenomena than others. That’s why you may feel finger stiffness without any specific disease, while it may not be the case for those around you.

I will now go back to the diseases that can cause (or exacerbate) this sensation.

Which disease causes pain and stiffness in the hands and fingers?

What are the diseases that can alone trigger difficulties in bending the fingers in the morning or make this already present sensation even more challenging?

Here is an incomplete list (as it’s challenging to enumerate them all!) of the main diseases that can be the cause of morning stiffness in the fingers:

Osteoarthritis: Normal wear and tear of cartilage.

Many people have osteoarthritis (even at a young age), and it doesn’t necessarily cause pain or problems. In such cases, it’s called asymptomatic osteoarthritis = without symptoms. However, sometimes it can cause discomfort.

The primary issue related to osteoarthritis, after pain, is joint stiffness, and possibly swelling and redness. The fingers are among the joints most affected by osteoarthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis: It’s a form of chronic joint inflammation, especially in the extremities.

Other examples include psoriatic arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus. It’s very rare for finger stiffness to be the first sign of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or psoriatic arthritis; there are other symptoms that are more indicative.

Gout: It’s a disease that causes inflammation due to a buildup of crystals in the joints.

It often affects the big toe but can also involve the hands and fingers.

Scleroderma: It’s an autoimmune disease that causes hardening and thickening of the skin and connective tissues.

However, it’s very rare for difficulty in bending fingers in the morning to be the first sign.

Carpal tunnel syndrome: It occurs when the median nerve in the wrist is compressed. This syndrome can lead to pain, tingling, and stiffness in the hands and fingers.

These symptoms typically increase during the day when you’re very active and use your wrist a lot.

However, some people sleep with their wrists bent, increasing pressure on the median nerve through the carpal tunnel. This increased pressure overnight can result in a sensation of stiffness in the fingers upon waking.

Dupuytren’s disease (or contracture): It primarily affects the pinky and ring fingers.

The stiffness is due to thick and fibrous scar tissue forming under the skin of the palm.

Synovial or ganglion cyst.

Also, if you’ve had a fracture in the fingers or wrist or tendon ruptures in the fingers, it’s common to experience difficulty in bending the fingers at times.

How to determine if your difficulty in bending your fingers in the morning is due to a disease or is “natural,” related to the phenomena mentioned at the beginning of the article? And when should you consult a doctor for this issue?

Let’s explore that now!

Main source: Oosterhoff 2015

See also: Main Causes of Pain in the Index Finger

What symptoms to look for stiff fingers in the morning?

If you have absolutely no other discomfort, no other symptoms in the morning or at other times of the day, it is quite likely that your finger stiffness in the morning is not due to a disease.

But “simply” to the phenomena I described at the beginning: the drop in your temperature at night, advancing age (if you are over 30/40/50), etc.

And even if, in addition to having difficulty bending your fingers in the morning, your fingers are swollen. This swelling is probably related to these same phenomena. For example, the accumulation of fluid in the joint due to immobility can sometimes cause them to swell a bit.

What are the symptoms that may suggest a disease?

Here they are.

Persistent pain throughout the day or at other times. If as the fingers are used throughout the day, the pain and discomfort persist.

Or if it calms down but reappears at certain times of the day when doing certain things.

Tingling or numbness. Tingling or a numb sensation in the fingers may indicate a neurological problem, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Increased difficulties during the day in performing tasks with your hands.

If you find it challenging to carry objects (while it was not a problem before), type on the computer, use a phone throughout the day, it may also suggest an issue other than just “natural” morning stiffness.

What are the early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Some of my patients precisely ask if these morning stiffness in the hands are a sign of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Here are the more specific signs that may indicate carpal tunnel syndrome:

• Tingling or numbness in the fingers, especially in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. These sensations come and go.
• Pain in the wrist, hand, or fingers, especially at night. The pain may radiate along the forearm.
• Weakness in the hand and difficulties in grasping objects, performing fine tasks, or maintaining a firm grip.
• Waking up at night due to pain or a burning sensation.

See also: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and physical therapy

When to consult a doctor for morning finger stiffness?

How to determine if difficulty bending fingers in the morning (+ possibly other symptoms) requires seeing a doctor?

Firstly, as you have seen in this article, difficulties bending fingers in the morning are quite common and reasonably do not suggest something serious. In any case, it’s not a medical emergency.

Thousands of people in France alone search the internet for information on this. That’s actually why I wrote this article!

If it still concerns you, I simply advise discussing it with your general practitioner (or your physical therapist) during your next visit, whether it’s already scheduled or not.

You can make a note somewhere to ensure you remember.

If you have other troubling signs that bother you throughout the day, hindering your daily activities at home or work, you might prefer to schedule a specific appointment to address this issue.

How do i stop my fingers from being stiff in the morning?

Here are some things you can do to possibly alleviate this morning stiffness.

Anything that moves your fingers or warms them up is beneficial.

Here are some more concrete ideas:

1. Perform simple finger exercises to bend them. I’ll show you how below.
2. Warm your hands by pressing them together, intertwining them, or massaging them.
3. Place a warm pack or hot water bottle on your fingers.
4. Wear comfortable woolen gloves to warm them up faster.

Finger exercises for those having difficulty bending them in the morning: Perform these simple exercises to help with finger flexibility:

1. Make a fist and then open your hand as wide as possible.
2. Bend your fingers at the middle joints, making a hook fist, and then straighten them.
3. Touch the tip of each finger to the tip of your thumb.
4. Spread your fingers apart and then bring them together.

Is it possible to prevent this morning stiffness, to avoid fingers having difficulty bending in the morning? Unless you have an underlying condition that requires treatment, it’s challenging to suggest something effective.

Some people sleep with splints, but this is more for relieving pain than preventing morning stiffness, which is somewhat inevitable.