No One Really Knows What Muscle Knots Are
Sometimes we get hard, painful, or tender lumps in the muscles. This is quite common and we often refer to them as muscle “knots”. Go to a massage therapist and they may tell you that you have “trigger points” or that you need “myofascial relaxation.” But is it really so? The truth is a little more complicated.
We don’t really know what “nodes” are
Look for muscle knots and you will find many people presumptuously explaining exactly what is happening in your muscle tissue when you feel tension and tenderness. But every time science has tried to figure out what’s really going on, the answers remain elusive.
Several studies have been conducted in which couples or groups of specialists (including physiotherapists, physicians, and chiropractors) were asked to locate muscle knots in patients. In most cases, they haven’t even come to an agreement about where the nodes are . There is no definitive test or definition of what a knot is, making it difficult to learn what it is made of or what causes it.
Scientists have long debated what actually happens when a spot develops in a muscle that can be described as a knot. This article on PainScience.com summarizes one controversy. One camp considers knots to be “trigger points,” where inflammation in the muscles causes pain, and the pain causes the muscles to tense up, making the knot worse until it can be relieved in some way. Another suggests that none of this is happening, and that the problem may be irritation of the nerves that tell our brain that we are in pain, although the muscle itself is fine.
So far, none of the explanations for muscle knots has been proven. Everyone seems to agree that knots are real, and that some therapies, such as massage, seem to help – we just don’t know for sure what causes knots, or whether the treatment actually does anything, or just seems to. works due to the placebo effect.
What to do if you have a muscle knot
It may disappoint you to know that there is no “just do it and it gets better” solution. On the other hand, there are many things that seem to relieve muscle knots, so you might want to try some of them and see if they help.
Massage or self-massage
One thing that seems to help is massaging the area with the knot. If you get massages regularly, be sure to point out any knots and let your massage therapist know that you appreciate the extra attention to them. There is no evidence that hard massage techniques are necessary, so if the massage is rougher than you’d like, feel free to ask for a softer touch, or even switch to someone who doesn’t apply as much pressure.
One theory why massage helps is that it increases blood flow to the area; the other is that it physically softens some of the fascial tissue around the knot. On the other hand, the irritated nerve theory is consistent with the idea that pain comes from the fact that the brain perceives a tissue threat (regardless of what is wrong or not in the tissue). Adding the extra sense of pain in a safe environment can help your nervous system recognize that it’s actually okay and suppress the pain signals .
foam rolling
Foam rolling, sometimes known by the fancy term “self-myofascial relaxation”, is essentially a form of self-massage. Whatever the mechanism, twisting the foam often makes the knot feel better.
Massage balls can help get more targeted pressure on the muscle knot. Shift your body weight onto a tennis ball, lacrosse ball, or specialty massage ball—you can get spiked balls, vibrating balls, and more. Again, you don’t need to apply a ton of pressure, just enough to make the knot feel a little better.
An exercise
One theory is that knots form more easily in muscles that are overworked, whether through exercise or everyday activities such as sitting in an uncomfortable position. If so, the stronger muscle will be harder to overwork. Exercise will also increase blood flow to the tissues, if that proves helpful; and stretching can also help knots feel better. Add it all up and you’ll have a good argument for starting a general exercise program (if you’re not already doing one) that includes cardio, strength training, and stretching.
Time
Like many pains that we experience in everyday life, muscle knots are usually temporary. So we can put them in the same category as muscle pain and muscle spasms and apply the same rules: do whatever makes them feel good, stay as active as the pain allows, and give them time to relax. healing. Eating well, staying hydrated, and getting plenty of rest won’t hurt while we’re at it.