How to Calculate Stiffness

Conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia and thyroid problems can cause overall stiffness. So can injuries or cold weather. Even depression is sometimes responsible for physical symptoms like muscle and joint stiffness. When you have a virus, you may feel tense and stiff all over. Along with this stiffness, there is often pain. Rating the sensation of stiffness can be done in several ways.

Instructions

Calculating Stiffness Symptoms

• 1

  Assess your level of stiffness on a Likert scale. A Likert scale for stiffness is a numerical scale from 1 to 10. The 1 on the scale would mean no symptoms of stiffness at all. Ten would mean the highest degree of stiffness. If you must hold onto the arms of a chair to stand up due to stiffness in your knees, you might rate yourself a 7 or 8. If you can roll out of bed without much difficulty or pain, but feel stiff once you stand up, this might be a 3 or 4 on the scale. Not being able to get up from the floor would rank a 9 or 10.

  Several times a day (every morning and evening is a good start), tune in to your body and assess your level of stiffness with a number from 1 to 10 on the scale. Over time, you will know your range of stiffness.

• 2

  Keep a symptom journal. Write down when you feel stiffness and describe how intense it is. Also note any activities that preceded the stiffness. Perhaps you went for a long walk or did some gardening. Keep track of foods that you ate recently. According to Women to Women, food sensitivities or allergies can cause inflammation, leading to stiffness. Maintaining a journal will show patterns of when stiffness happens and perhaps the causes of it.

• 3

  Do range-of-motion assessments. Joint stiffness leads to limited range of motion. If you can perform certain stretches, then you have adequate range of movement. For example, the scratch test measures shoulder flexibility. You raise an arm up over your shoulder. Bend the elbow and attempt to place the palm of your hand on your back. At the same time, put the other hand behind your back and attempt to grab the fingers of the arm overhead. If your fingers overlap, you have excellent range of motion. If they do not come close to each other, your range of motion is limited. There are assessments for hip, low back, knees, fingers and more.