WHAT ARE MUSCLE KNOTS, AND HOW DO YOU MAKE THEM GO AWAY?

Do you ever feel a deep ache or sharp pain in your upper back, shoulders, and neck? When you dig your fingers into the muscles, do you feel the knots?

“MUSCLE KNOTS ARE SMALL AREAS OF MUSCLE THAT HAVE BECOME CONTRACTED,” SAYS DR. JOHN BLENIO, A CHIROPRACTOR AND SPORTS INJURY SPECIALIST IN SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA.

Knots can happen if you sit in front of a computer all day if you sleep wrong at night, or if you’ve had a muscle strain or muscle injury of some kind.

Trigger points are the clinical term used to describe these knots. The knots are simply small areas of contracted muscle that won’t relax. They stay contracted for so long that eventually, the muscle starts to fatigue. Once the muscle has fatigued, that’s when you feel aches and pains.

Muscle knots are very common and are nothing to be concerned about, though. They just need to be addressed.

So what can you do?

Sitting at Your Computer

If you sit in front of a computer for 4-8 hours per day, it’s important to change your body posture. That means make sure to sit up straight at times, then in a slightly more reclined position at other times. The reclined position is actually the best because it minimizes muscle tension buildup in the upper back, neck, and shoulders.

SLUMPING FORWARD WHILE SITTING FOR LONG PERIODS IS THE WORST WAY TO SIT BECAUSE IT CAUSES THE BACK AND SHOULDER MUSCLES TO TIGHTEN.

Sleeping

When you sleep, the best way to sleep is on your back. When you are on your back, your muscles are in their most neutral and relaxed state. Some people can’t sleep on their backs, though. So, the next best body position is on your side. Just make sure your head and spine are in a straight line. If your neck is bent, that could cause muscles to become tight and knots to form.

THE WORST WAY TO SLEEP IS FACE DOWN. WHEN YOU SLEEP FACE DOWN, YOUR NECK IS ROTATED TO ONE SIDE, AND THAT CAN RESULT IN THE FORMATION OF A MUSCLE KNOT IN YOUR NECK OR SHOULDER, RESULTING IN PAIN.

Self Massage

”The best way to work out muscle knots is to use a massage ball,” says Dr. Blenio. “Purchase an air-filled massage ball with moderate firmness to it. Get up against a wall and press your body against the ball and the wall. Move around and make the ball roll back and forth over the muscle knots, and in as little as 3 minutes, you will feel significant relief.”
(Watch this tutorial video:https://youtu.be/PXOFp7fz5VY)

MUSCLE KNOTS ARE VERY COMMON RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MANY PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME DURING THE PANDEMIC. IT’S IMPORTANT TO EITHER SEE A PRACTITIONER LIKE DR. BLENIO OR USE SELF-MASSAGE TOOLS LIKE MASSAGE BALLS TO WORK THEM OUT YOURSELF.

REFERENCES

JOHN BLENIO, DC
CHIROPRACTOR AND SPORTS INJURY SPECIALIST, SAN MATEO, CA