How do you get rid of muscle knots

Many have asked, “How do you get rid of muscle knots?”.

What is a muscle knot? It is a common term to describe an area that hurts and feels like a lump or bump. Muscle knots may also be called trigger points, myofascial trigger points, palpable nodules, or knots. So, what are they? The answer is debatable; my educated guess is they have something to do with sarcomeres getting stuck in a contracted position. At the core of what people call muscle knots are areas of the body experiencing pain or discomfort. Saying you have a knot is a way of expressing that you are in pain, and it feels like the knot is the source.

In this article, I will explain why most knots are not knots, why they are still important even when someone cannot physically feel them, and the steps you can take to alleviate them.

Exploring what a knot is can be fun and exciting, but in my professional opinion, they are rare, often incorrectly identified, and can result in unhealthy perceptions of our bodies.

If they are so rare, why has every massage therapist told me I have so many? Sure, nearly every massage therapist you visit will find them and try to work them out. They may say things like, “Oh wow, you have a lot of knots.”, or “This knot is really tough; this is going to hurt, so make sure you breathe!” Then, they apply pressure to the area, and you experience discomfort.

Why does it hurt when the therapist presses on them if it isn’t a knot? First, not all areas that hurt when touched are knots. There are predictable areas of our body that hurt or feel uncomfortable when we touch them. These are the patterns of pain almost everyone experiences. Many of these pain patterns are common in other mammals as well. Dogs, cats, and even horses have predictable areas of discomfort. Knowing this is important because it guides us in knowing which kinds of discomfort are normal.

What causes these areas to hurt? There could be an array of reasons. It may be an area where you hold your stress, a spot that needs attention, or a trigger point from another location. It could be an over or underused muscle, or your central nervous system has decided the area needs to be protected.

Just because there is a slight bump on your back, it doesn’t mean anything is abnormal. Our body is not perfectly symmetrical. If you take the time to explore your body, you will discover an array of beautiful differences between one side and the other. Body asymmetry is normal and natural; unless something appears out of nowhere, there is nothing to be concerned about. If you notice something abnormal develops, you should seek a medical professional instead of trying to squish it away.

Additionally, how acquainted are you with your body? We typically touch only a few places, so they may seem weird or unusual when interacting with certain spots. We should explore the magnificence of our physical form to discover its fascinating textures and shapes. We may touch one area and think something must be wrong with it because it feels different than on someone else’s body. The reality is we are all unique, and our bodies feel different. There are similarities, but no two people are the same.

Rather than hunting for knots, take some time to learn about your body’s natural shapes and formations. Many areas massage therapists locate muscle knots in are bony landmarks or asymmetrical areas of the body. Other times, they are thick, dense, and strong muscles. Muscle knots are often incorrectly identified because many people need more effective body awareness, or their therapists cannot accurately identify bones and bony landmarks.

Some years ago, I was sitting outside a coffee shop reading a book about massage. A young woman noticed what I was reading and said, “I often massage my boyfriend, but he is a wimp; his back is covered with knots, and he cries like a baby when I push on them.“

I asked her what the muscle knots felt like when she pushed on them, and she said they were very hard. Then I asked her if the hard bumps ever went away after she pressed on them, and she said no. I thought momentarily, then asked her if the knots went up his spine on both sides. With a wide-eyed reply, she asked how I knew. With a shake of my head, I told her the areas she was pushing on weren’t knots; they were the transverse processes of his vertebrae. I told her he was complaining about the pressure because she was hurting him.

Some years ago, I was receiving a massage from a therapist. I noticed she was over-focusing on my shoulder blades. “Boy, you have some knots in here. Do you want me to take care of them for you?” She said. I asked her to feel around to show me what she was talking about. When she pressed, I could feel the discomfort, but it wasn’t because I had a muscle knot. It was because she was pushing into the spine of my scapula. In effect, she created a vice with the bony point of their finger and the bony landmark of my shoulder blade. It hurt because she was crushing the muscle.

A lack of awareness regarding the locations of the body’s bony landmarks often leads to a false assessment of muscle knots. The therapist will feel a lump or bump, and believing it is a knot, they will push into it. As a result, it creates a vice-like structure that crushes the muscle and causes pain and discomfort for the client.

When you massage yourself, you will feel all sorts of bumps, hard spots, and fascinating textures. Exploring the soft tissues of your body will acquaint you with how it feels, so when someone says you have a knot, you will know your body’s natural and healthy bony landmarks. This familiarity is essential because when people tell us our body has an abnormality, we tend to obsess and hyper-focus on it.

When massage therapists advise clients that they have a muscle knot, people tend to over-massage themselves at home or throughout their daily lives. As a result, they may bruise themselves from overworking the area. People tend to use their fingers like ice picks, jamming them into the knot and pressing as hard as possible to release the tension. Due to this, I am cautious when using the term knot when describing an area of a client’s body.

In addition to increasing the likelihood the client will bruise themselves with self-massage after being told they have a knot, it may also contribute to a negative self-image. We live in a world that constantly inundates us with negative influences; I want to serve as a lighthouse at the edge of the sea, guiding people toward positivity and good things. To achieve this excellent goal, I search for ways to uplift others, guide them in advocating for themselves, and remind them why life is bright and delightful.

“I love language, people, the relationships they have with each other, and the human experience. Everyone has their unique story; each is beautiful, bold, and as heartwrenching as the cosmos is old. At the core of massage is the human experience, the journey of life, and the brilliance of pursuing divine delightfulness. Between each person’s story is an ocean separating all our islands. Fortunately, we are social creatures, and we love connecting with others. Unfortunately, communication is challenging because we all experience life in different ways. When we meet and speak with others, we send emissaries on boats from our soul to get to know their inner golden glow.”

When clients tell me they have knots, I want to know what they mean. Are the knots their observation, or is it something someone else pointed out? Sharing this information can help reduce anxiety and provide the therapist with critical insight into the client’s pain patterns.

Sharing this information accomplishes two things:

• It can help reduce the pain associated with stress and anxiety. Pain often creates anxiety, and anxiety magnifies our perception of pain. Talking about our pain to someone can reduce our anxiety and stress, and as a result, it can reduce the pain associated with our anxiety.
• It allows the client to articulate their degrees and types of discomfort. This information helps the therapist personalize the tools and techniques to help relieve pain.

As the client describes their knots, I am attempting to discern whether they are asking me to look for bumps and lumps in their soft tissues; are they describing a bothersome sensation, or are they expressing both?

If they describe a bump or lump, this gives me a roadmap to assess the knot during the massage to determine the appropriate method for addressing it.

In most instances, the term knot indicates an area that hurts. It is a way for the client to express that the spot is a focus point and that they seek pain relief in the associated areas. Whether there is or is not a palpable knot is irrelevant. I do not need physical evidence of pain to believe it exists. If you tell me you hurt, I will believe you.

The most effective way to eliminate muscle knots is to schedule a massage with a therapist who listens to you, adapts the session to meet your unique needs, and focuses on relieving your pain more than breaking apart your knots.