If you’ve ever noticed your joint pain feels worse at night, you’re not alone. Many people experience this frustrating pattern and find it hard to get a good night’s sleep. In fact, studies show that up to 88% of people with chronic pain suffer from disrupted sleep or insomnia, often because their pain flares up at night.
At the private practice of orthopaedic surgeon Kevin Park, MD, our patients often ask why their joints hurt more when they’re trying to rest. The answer isn’t simple, but understanding the reasons behind nighttime joint pain can help you manage it better.
Let’s look at what’s happening in your body at night to make joint pain worse.
During the day, you’re busy moving around. Your body stays active, which keeps your joints and muscles warm and flexible. Even simple movements like walking, stretching, or standing keep blood flowing to your joints, delivering oxygen and nutrients that reduce stiffness and discomfort.
At night, your activity slows down. Blood circulation naturally decreases as you rest, especially in extremities like your hands, knees, and feet. With less movement and lower blood flow, your joints might feel stiffer and more painful.
It’s similar to how your body feels after sitting still for a long time — things tighten up and become sore.
Another reason for nighttime joint pain is inflammation. Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury or irritation. If you have conditions like arthritis, bursitis, or tendinitis, your joints are already inflamed to some degree.
Inflammation tends to rise at night because your body produces fewer anti-inflammatory hormones, like cortisol, while you sleep. Without these hormones to keep inflammation in check, you may feel more swelling, stiffness, and pain in your joints as bedtime approaches.
During the day, you have plenty of distractions — work, conversations, errands, and even background noise. These distractions keep your brain busy, so you may not focus as much on your joint pain.
But at night, when things quiet down, your brain has fewer things to pay attention to. Without those distractions, pain signals seem louder and more noticeable. This is a normal experience and can make joint pain feel worse than it actually is.
Pain and sleep have a complicated relationship. Joint pain can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, and poor sleep may make your pain feel more intense. Furthermore, when you don’t get enough rest, your body becomes more sensitive to pain signals.
Stress can also play a role. If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, your muscles tend to tighten. This tension can increase pressure on your joints, especially if you’re already dealing with inflammation.
Unfortunately, worrying about joint pain or lack of sleep can worsen the situation, creating a vicious cycle.
Recent research into other potential causes of increased pain at night, such as the role of oxidative stress, are broadening our understanding of why people’s joints hurt more at this time of day.
The good news is that you can take steps to ease your nighttime joint pain. Here are some helpful tips:
Gentle exercise such as walking or swimming keeps your joints flexible and improves blood flow. Just remember to not overdo it, especially close to bedtime.
Placing a warm compress or heat pad on painful joints can relax muscles and increase circulation, making you feel more comfortable before sleep.
Light stretching in the evening can loosen stiff joints and reduce discomfort overnight.
Deep breathing, meditation, or calming music can ease stress, helping you fall asleep more easily.
Let our board-certified orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Park know if nighttime joint pain becomes severe or constant and treatments like physical therapy, medications, and other interventions aren’t helping. You might need to consider surgery, for example:
Dr. Park specializes in procedures like these and can often use minimally invasive techniques.
We aim to relieve joint pain as much as possible and improve your quality of life, so call our office in Houston, Texas, or use our online scheduler. Whether you’re dealing with arthritis or an old injury, we’re ready to guide you toward solutions that work.
