The fact of being stiff.
Loss of suppleness and flexibility in the muscles and joints. Stiffness may be caused by an injury or an inflammatory or degenerative disease such as osteoarthritis. Persistent, prolonged, and disabling stiffness in muscles and joints should be evaluated by a doctor.
A condition which may be due to a change in the joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles, or to the influence of the nervous system over the muscles of the part affected. Stiffness is associated with various forms of arthritis or muscular disorders, and with the effects of injuries to joints, tendons and muscles. Stiffness of the neck muscles, resulting in bending the head backwards, and of the hamstring muscles, causing difficulty in straightening the lower limbs, may be a sign of meningitis. Stiffness or spasticity also occurs in certain diseases of the central nervous system.
The phrase used to describe challenges in joint mobility or muscle stretching is “joint stiffness.” Morning joint stiffness is a hallmark of conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis, discomfort and stiffness might intensify by day’s end. Stiffness can also arise from cramping and muscle rigidity, known as spasticity.