Knee pain is so common that it is experienced in different ways by each person. This article is looking at why night time might be worse for your knees or why they seem to hurt more when you are trying to get some precious sleep.
"My knees feel ok during the day, better when I'm moving around, yet when I come to rest them I feel even worse and the pain stops me sleeping!"
Some conditions such as patella tendonitis, arthritis and cartilage tears are affected by inflammation, which is typically worse first thing in the morning and last thing at night. There are also pain patterns where people are pain-free during the day and only get their pain at night. It is likely that pain is better with movement and being on the go during the day and they try to lure still overnight allows the joint or muscle to progressively stiffen as the night goes on. It's logical then to expect the body to create enough discomfort to wake us up and make us move around. Still problematic when we want to be able to sleep through the night!
We recommend not spending more than 20 mins in this battle of body and mind. If you're feeling sore and can't sleep it may be a case of rolling over and getting comfy but after 20 mins of wakefulness get up and go do something else. Something boring. We don't recommend turning all the lights on or having any caffeinated drinks. But grab a boring book, stay the ironing with some low lighting on or start another equally boring task, even do your Physio exercises! As soon as you start to feel sleepy head back to bed. It's important not to make the unconscious link in the bed between the bedroom and wakefulness. The bedroom should be a place of rest, relaxation, sex and sleep. And that is all. No work, no TV, no exercise. Your subconscious brain can easily form these associations and the last thing you want when you're recovering from pain is to put your head to the pillow and become wide awake.
Knee Position can also be important. Having a cushion or pillow between your knees to stop them resting on each other can make them less sensitive.
If you usually go to sleep on your back, rolling up a small towel or pillow and placing underneath your knee can make it more comfortable too.
Buy a Knee Support
The Essential Wellness K nee Support is designed to take some of the strain off the ligaments and tendons within the knee during the day time. This can have a knock-on effect of experiencing less pain at night. However, we wouldn't recommend sleeping in a knee support, so the circulation around the knee is not restricted. A variety of common knee conditions can benefit from wearing a knee support during the day, such as arthritis, tendonitis and cartilage tears.