What is a muscle knot?

When you picture a muscle knot, it's hard not to imagine a rope with a knot in the middle.  That's exactly what it feels like, doesn't it?  Painful, irritated, tender to the touch, limiting your range of motion! So, what exactly is a muscle knot?

Muscle knots are points within a muscle where contracted fibers are unable to release, or, as the dictionary puts it: “highly irritable localized spots of exquisite tenderness in a nodule in palpable taunt bands of muscle tissue.”

A common problem for active people, muscle knot. They feel like a small knot to your fingertips. These knots can range from the size depending on size of muscle.

Muscle knots can cause pain in two ways: (1)  knots that only hurt when you put pressure on them, and (2)  knots that  refer pain  in non-localized areas.

Trigger points (we will talk trigger points in a later blog) in a constant state of contraction have excess metabolic waste and oxygen use because blood flow to this area stops—this sends pain signals to the brain. Because your brain wants to stop the pain, it commands the muscle to rest, which leads to under-usage of the muscle. This is what makes the muscle shorten and tighten up.

 

The most common causes of muscle knots are:

1) Accidents– Acute trauma, such as bad falls & sports injuries that strain you joints and muscles

2) Postural Stress– Sitting too long with poor posture, sitting with no support, & lifting improperly

3) Overstimulation– Strenuous exercise and sport activities, especially lifting weights

If you are developing muscle knots frequently from lifting weights in your shoulders, neck, or upper, or middle back, the likely cause is a postural issue. For example, if you have rounded shoulders from sitting in a office, your back muscles are already overstretched because your shoulders are rounded forwards. When you complete some pull-ups, or rows, your muscle will be stretched even further when lowering the weight, then will forcibly contract when lifting the weight. This over-stretching combined with intense contractions can overstimulate your muscles causing those nasty muscle knots to form.

Source: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/06/07/muscle-knots

I am going to wrap this blog up by saying that I do not believe everything we feel in the muscle is a knot. I also believe, given my experience that EVERYONE has knots.  Don't let that weigh heavily on your mind.  I hear the worry in a client's voice sometimes when they say, "I have so many knots." Erase that mental picture you have of  your body inundated with knots!  Enjoy your massage, and take note of areas that are bothersome so that you can work with your massage therapist to have the most effective massage.