Older lady waking up with back stiffness Have you ever noticed that your body is incredibly smart, but also a bit of a slacker? When a machine has a rusty, jammed gear, the whole system grinds to a halt. But when a joint in your spine gets stiff or locked up, your body doesn't stop moving. Instead, it secretly forces the joints above or below that stiff spot to work twice as hard to make up for it. Clinically, this phenomenon is referred to as biomechanical compensation. In s