10 Most Common Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

#4 Muscle & Joint Stiffness

Fibromyalgia can also cause feelings of stiffness in muscles and joints. While it’s normal to experience these types of sensations after periods of strenuous physical activity, people with fibromyalgia develop muscle and joint stiffness for no immediately apparent reason. Like fibromyalgia pain, this stiffness can be generalized throughout the body, or it might affect one or more localized muscle or joint groups.

Some fibromyalgia patients say their muscle and joint stiffness is worse first thing in the morning, or after they have been sitting down or motionless for an extended period of time. This, in and of itself, is fairly normal, especially in older people. However, people with fibromyalgia do not experience significant relief after they get up and start moving around again. In fact, in some fibromyalgia cases, movement can worsen rather than relieve muscle and joint stiffness. Over-the-counter medications don’t usually offer sustained relief, either.