Waking up with body aches is often due to improper sleeping posture which leads to the compression of blood vessels. For patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, these aches may contribute to complications. This article provides further information on this symptom.
1. What Causes Body Aches Upon Waking?
Body aches after getting up may result from wind–cold invasion of the meridians (a concept in traditional medicine) causing pain in the shoulders and nape. The pain may continue when moving, tingling from the shoulders down to the arms, back, hips and ribs.
According to traditional practitioners, shoulder‑neck aches may arise from using too high a pillow or sleeping in an incorrect posture, which compresses blood vessels and muscles. If the patient also has myocardial infarction, high blood pressure, or cerebrovascular accident (stroke), morning shoulder‑neck pain may progress to hemiplegia or even death.
People who habitually lie on one side for a long time without changing position, or sleep in a curled‑up posture, may normally have no trouble – but if their constitution is weak, their circulation slows down, and the reduction in blood flow and oxygen exchange after sleep may easily lead to body aches upon waking. One‑sided or bilateral body aches upon waking may be explained by compression causing muscle hypoxia beyond a threshold, and the fact that this ischemia does not self‑correct leads to symptoms like muscle stiffness or a twisted neck after waking.
The situation becomes more dangerous when people with such aches apply certain treatments themselves such as hot oils, medicated alcohol, pain‑relief creams, vigorous massage on the painful area, or even “cao gio” (scraping therapy) because they believe they have a wind‑cold condition. However, for cases of body aches after waking, using topical oils, hot lubricants, creams … may provide instant but temporary relief before pain recurs.
2. Factors That Cause Body Aches After Waking
Some contributing factors include:
- Sleeping under a fan or air‑conditioner for too long
- Washing hair or bathing late at night
- Using too high a pillow
- Low physical activity, sedentary work
- Flu, upper respiratory infections or other internal medical conditions such as joint diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease
- Smoking
3. Some Measures to Help Reduce Body Aches After Waking
In modern life, causes of muscle‑hypoxia and body aches are fairly common, including prolonged air‑conditioning use, exposure to rain or sun, showering at midnight, or sitting long hours with little movement – together with incorrect sleep posture – all considered major reasons for shoulder‑neck aches.
For typical aches due to mild wind‑cold invasion, exposure or light circulation disturbance, one can apply methods like scraping therapy, steam therapy, eating scallion porridge… that help relax the vessels and muscles, stimulate respiration and increase blood‑oxygen levels.
However, not everyone can accurately determine their cause of shoulder‑nape or body aches. In those cases, you should see a doctor or visit a medical facility for testing and diagnosis so that suspected causes can be excluded and accurate diagnosis with early treatment will yield better results.
In addition, patients can adopt an appropriate rest regime and limit movement for a few days. They should also supplement essential minerals such as calcium, potassium… and vitamins that improve immunity, including vitamin C, vitamin D, B vitamins…
Also, in order to reduce body aches after waking, traditional medicine doctors may use proper massage, acupuncture to relax the painful muscles and improve blood flow to them. These methods can gradually reduce pain and should be performed regularly for several days.
Moreover, if the pain is excessive, the doctor may recommend muscle‑relaxant injections.
In addition, prevention of morning body pain can be achieved by adopting comfortable sleeping posture, not using too high a pillow, avoiding curling up in sleep, doing gentle exercise and perhaps applying warm compresses.
To arrange an appointment, please call HOTLINE or make your reservation directly HERE. You may also download the MyVinmec app to schedule appointments faster and manage your reservations more conveniently.
