morning stiffness

The 3 cats and three cows of the morning: how to get out of bed when your low back is really stiff and painful

We have had a lot of patients inquire about the best method to get out of bed and loosen up when they wake up with a lot of intense low back stiffness and pain. This is not an uncommon finding with patients who have underlying lumbosacral inflammation from new injuries or degenerative disc disease.

The brief video goes through 3 versions of the cat and cow, starting right on your back before getting out of bed, and gradually progressing through the seated version and into the traditional tabletop version. By the time you finally stand up, the pain is often 50% reduced. This allows patients, who normally dread getting out of bed because of the half hour of intense pain and stiffness, to work through gentle progressive active range of motion in a few minutes, and be able to be functional much quicker at sunrise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJdsrYrLS_g&t=3s