By Lauren Jackson, Physiotherapist

Living with joint pain can negatively impact all aspects of your life, including your all-important sleep. Restorative sleep is fundamental to health and wellbeing as it is responsible for ensuring the body restores & replenishes its natural resources on a cellular level. This is vital to maintain healthy soft tissues & combat joint pain. Discomfort in the hips, knees, shoulders or other joints can make it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position, leading to restless nights and frequent awakenings. Poor sleep, in turn, can worsen pain sensitivity, creating a frustrating cycle that affects both physical health and overall well-being.

Stress, pain & poor sleep: 

As a physiotherapist, I frequently encounter patients who find their joint pain worsens at night time. Oftentimes, this is due to lack of distraction which we get during day-to-day activity. Our mind is able to focus on the painful joint & it can be difficult to switch off as the feeling of discomfort is exacerbated by the brain. Drifting off to sleep can therefore prove difficult and when we do eventually fall asleep, frequent awakenings can be common. Extracted’s new product, Calmee, can be a great aid to manage those “middle-of-the-night” wake-ups as it contains ingredients with calming properties such as Ganoderma Lucidum and Ashwagandha.

Fretting about not getting enough sleep whilst dealing with joint pain can be counter-productive. Increased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, negatively impact the body’s natural release of melatonin - the sleep hormone. This can create a negative cycle of stress, pain & poor sleep. To break away from this cycle and improve both your joint pain and sleep quality, it’s important to focus on creating a solid routine which targets joint pain rehabilitation & sleep hygiene.

Your daily joint pain rehabilitation routine:

Find a daily joint pain supplement that you can trust. This should contain well-researched ingredients that are evidence-dosed to have a meaningful impact. Flexee, by Extracted, includes fantastic ingredients such as egg-shell membrane which contains over 400 proteins and collagen to increase joint and tendon elasticity. The turmeric and boswellia also reduce levels of inflammation which is often a contributing factor to joint pain.

A consistent exercise programme is crucial to support healthy joints. Your exercise programme should combine mobility, stability & strengthening exercises. The aim is to improve muscular strength to offload your painful joint, release synovial fluid to decrease stiffness and improve muscular imbalances to restore healthy movement patterns. The exercise programme should be completed daily to ensure that consistent, healthy movement of the painful joint is achieved. See my previous blog here which covers my favourite exercises for the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, low back & neck.

How to improve your sleep hygiene:

Try to start & end your day at the same time every single day. Allowing your body, brain & hormones to get into a healthy sleep pattern ensures that the correct level of melatonin is released at the correct time of the day to help you wind down and drift off to sleep quickly. It may take a few weeks to create this sleep habit, especially if you’re somebody who often goes to bed late, but try to persevere to create this important routine. Adding Sleepee by Extracted into your routine can help in the early stages, with ingredients L-Tryptophan, a precursor to our natural sleep hormone, melatonin, and Montmoerncy Cherry at 5000mg which is packed full of natural melatonin.

When experiencing a joint pain flare-up, try and find a comfortable sleeping position during daylight hours. Practicing and preparing your body for sleep before bedtime can decrease levels of worry & stress which would otherwise occur as a result of the anxiety felt towards having a bad night’s sleep. Experiment with pillow placement - a pillow between the knees can often help with knee, hip and back pain, whilst a pillow under the arm can improve shoulder pain by bringing the shoulder joint forward into a more comfortable position.

Decrease blue-light exposure at least 1 hour before bedtime. Blue-light emitted from mobile phones & other screens has been found to negatively impact the release of melatonin. Pop your phone away one hour before bedtime & try reading or listening to a gentle podcast to help you wind down instead.

The connection between joint pain and poor sleep is strong and can be a difficult cycle to break. These tips will hopefully kickstart your journey to decreased joint pain and improved sleep. By strategically focusing on creating healthy joint pain and sleep hygiene routines, you are reducing the anxiety & stress that is associated with both joint pain and poor sleep which is paramount to breaking the sleep/pain cycle.

I hope these tips help! Remember to consult a health professional before initiating a new exercise routine.

This blog is written by Lauren Jackson BSc (Hons) Physiotherapist HPC Registered. 

Lauren graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class honours degree in Physiotherapy in 2020. After completing professional placements in a variety of specialties, she completed her last year of study working in the USA in a busy outpatient clinic, using innovative and advanced methods to treat a multitude of clients including athletes and post-operative patients.

Lauren incorporates manual therapy, therapeutic massage, rehabilitative exercise, gait re-education & valuable advice and support to address all kinds of conditions, to treat & prevent further musculoskeletal issues from arising.

Lauren is also a qualified gym & Pilates instructor and has qualifications in sports massage and sports taping which she utilises to aid her patients’ recovery. She has an avid passion for fitness & exercise so understands the importance of returning to full health as quickly as possible. Lauren is proficient in person-centered practice to ensure that her Physiotherapy treatment is tailored to her patients' goals and lifestyle.

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.