stiffness
n. uncountablen. a feeling of being tight or hard to move, often in your muscles or a joint. It can also describe an object that does not bend easily.
n. the physical property of being rigid or difficult to bend; also refers to a physiological state of reduced range of motion in muscles or joints.
I have some stiffness in my neck after sleeping poorly.
The physical therapist recommended daily stretching to reduce the stiffness in the patient's lower back.
Engineers must calculate the stiffness of the structural beams to ensure the bridge can withstand high winds without excessive vibration or catastrophic failure.
From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”).
Often used with the preposition 'in' when referring to body parts.