What causes my muscles to knot?

What are knots:

  • Muscle knots are points within a muscle where contracted fibers are unable to relax.
  • The dictionary is: “highly irritable localized spots of exquisite tenderness in a nodule in palpable taunt bands of muscle tissue.”
  • The medical term for muscle knots is myofascial trigger points.

Knots are thought to be caused by the building up of protein after the release of lactic acid.

Knots cause pain in two ways:

  • Active
    An active trigger point or knot is one that actively refers pain either locally or via nerve pathways to another location in the body.  Active trigger points are the one that clients are aware of and cause them to book to see a masseur.
  • Latent
    A latent trigger point is one that isn’t painful until pressure is applied to it.  This is when clients come to me and they find that during the massage they feel pain that they hadn’t felt before the treatment.

How can I prevent knots?

Occasional knots are inevitable, but if you get a lot of them it is worth considering the following

  • Your posture
  • Your potassium and calcium levels as both help to prevent knots
  • Being dehydrated doesn’t help
  • Your posture
  • Stretching may help release knots

How can I release knots?

If you didn’t manage to prevent knots you then need to consider how to release them.

  • To self-treat a muscular knot put a tennis ball in a sock (it makes it easier to hold on to the ball), simply place the tennis ball in the sock against either a wall or the floor and then press the part of your body with the knot on to it and move your body up and down.
  • As an alternative, you could apply a deep, stroking massage directly to the muscle knot.
  • The alternative is to visit a masseur.

 

Related Posts

  • Benefits of Deep Tissue Massage when compared to Seated Acupressure Massage

    Just because you have a Neck or Shoulder problem it doesn't mean Seated Acupressure Massage is the best treatment for you.  There are many benefits of Deep Tissue Massage for Neck & Shoulder problems and I wanted to share some: Because Deep Tissue Massage is carried out on a massage table allows us to use a greater variety of advanced techniques (which are not able to utilise while you are sitting in an oniste massage chair).  By ustilising all our massaging applicators and advanced techniques it makes Deep Tissue Massage more effective at:

    • Alleviate pain
    • Restore flexibility
    • Address muscle spasms
    • Address knots
    Deep Tissue Massage is more flexible so we can reach all the affected muscles.  For example with Seated Acupressure Massage we only treat some of the muscles and don't do any work on the chest.  If you have poor posture then Deep Tissue Massage can open up your chest which is normally tightens up when you have poor posture. Put simply Deep Tissue Massage is best for addressing problems with your Neck or Shoulder while Seated Acupressure Massage is best for reducing stress and anxiety.

  • Anxiety reduction & massage?

    I know that I often say that one of the benefits of massage is that it may reduce anxiety.  I think most people would agree that being in hospital or undergoing hospital procedures may makes us feel anxious.  So I was interested in a recent study that looked at the effectiveness of massage with or without guided imagery (a therapist talking you through a scene to help you relax), prior to cardiac catheterisation.  As you can imagine anxiety is very common in patients prior to cardiac catheterisation, which can lead to high blood pressure and increase the amount of sedation necessary to complete the procedure. Fifty five patients opted to receive either a 15-minute massage (31 patients) and a 20 minute guided imagery (24 patients) in a quiet area of the hospital prior to cardiac catheterisation.  Self-report anxiety levels, blood pressure and heart rate were evaluated in the research participants as well as matched for comparison to a control group not taking part in the study. The results indicated that massage, with or without guided imagery, produced significant reductions in self-reported anxiety, with the combined intervention having a more pronounced effect.  In addition a lower diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were found when compared to the control group. In my experience slow, deep stokes help to reduce anxiety and as a team we often incorporate this into treatments. References Amstrong K, Dixon S, May S, Patricolo GE (2014).  Anxiety reduction in patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation, following massage and guided imagery.  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 20 (4): 334 - 338.    

  • Trigger Points

    Often clients sit down to have a massage and are unaware how tight one area of there shoulder or neck is.  This is very common and here is why:

    • We only notice the worse area of pain - so if our right shoulder is more painful, we have a tendency to assume our left shoulder is OK.
    • Trigger Points
    What are Trigger Points? Trigger Points are hyper-irritable spots in muscle which are between 2mm - 10mm in diameter that are located frequently located where the nerves join the muscle fibers.  Active trigger points are always tender or painful, and often refer pain, so trigger points in only of the largest shoulder muscles the trapezius often refers pain up the side of the neck.  While latent trigger points are only painful when they are touched.  This is why when I work, sometime you discover areas of your shoulders that you didn't know were painful, these are latent trigger points. Trigger points can be found anywhere in the body but are extremely common in the shoulders. So if latent trigger points are only painful when you touch them, do I need a massage to release them?  The simple answer is yes as they may restrict your range of movement, so you will feel tightness if you try and rotate your shoulders or they can reduce the strength of your muscles, which puts more strain on your joints. What causes trigger points? There are several ideas about what causes trigger points but no agreed theory.  Below is a list of possible causes
    • Poor Posture
    • Muscle Damage
    • Nervous Tension
    • Physical Stress
    • Psyschological Stress
    • Environmental Factors - cold, damp
    • Illness
    • Lack of rest or sleep
    • Poor Diet
    What are the symptoms of trigger points?
    • Restricted movement
    • Tension headaches
    • Referred pain
    • Painful movement of a joint or limb
    How can I prevent trigger points forming?
    • Maintain good posture
    • Manage your stress
    • Follow a daily stretching routine
    How can I get rid of my trigger points?
    • Acupuncture
    • Massage