How Massage Can Treat Muscle Knots?

Muscle knots. Say them out loud, and your wince in reaction will confirm your familiarity with them. Perhaps your shoulder, your back, and your neck have seen that sore, aching sensation. That one that won’t move anywhere, no matter how much resting and stretching you try to administer. Muscle knots can drive one mad, but don’t fret, for a remedy, at least, is in your hands: massage therapy. Believe it or not, massage therapy can work out muscle knots and bestow comfort oonyou that you have long been searching for.

So, first, let’s understand a little about a muscle knot. Muscle knots, simply speaking, are little, tight, and contracted areas in a muscle. Muscle knots occur when a cluster of muscle fibers becomes locked in a state of contraction, and most often, it’s a consequence of overuse, tension, poor postures, or trauma. Consequently, stiffness and a sore develop in a certain muscle, and that’s why you have that lingering ache.

It’s a little like having your muscle in a constant “spasm” but with no jerking motion at all. Muscle knots can form anywhere in your body, but most often form in your shoulder, your neck, and your back areas, areas in which tension accumulates and pools. Have you ever seen that “hump” or “bump” in your shoulder or your neck? That’s a muscle knot for you.

I have my fair share of myofascial adhesions, and I can appreciate that they can cause a lot of misery for a lot of people. Let’s have a quick refresher, then, about why such adhesions occur in the first place. There’s a range of common culprits:

• Stress and tension: Have you ever become aware when stressed—your tension in your shoulder, your jaw clenched? That tension can form knots in your muscles. Stress places your body in a state of fight-or-flight, and your muscles tighten in response. That tension can build over a period and become painful knots.
• Long sitting with poor posture: Sitting for long stretches with poor posture, such as in front of a computer monitor or looking down at your phone, can develop muscle knots. Poor postures tension your muscles, specifically your shoulder, neck, and lower back areas.
• Overuse and Injury: Have you ever overworked your body at work or through exercise? That aching sensation afterwards is a familiar one. Once in a while, when a muscle is overused or hurt, it will form a knot. That’s your protective mechanism, reducing motion in an injured area.
• Dehydration and Inadequate Blood Flow: Occasionally, when we don’t hydrate enough or lack circulation, our muscles will become constricted and form knots. Dehydration will make them even more sensitive to stiffness and spasm.

Now that we understand what a muscle knot is and why it occurs, let’s go over how massage therapy can work for them. Massage therapy is a powerful remedy for a muscle knot, and I can testify firsthand to its effectiveness.

Once a massage is received, your massage therapist will apply pressure to your muscles, and in the process, release tension and bbringblood circulation to your area. By relaxing your tight strands of muscle, it can ease tension.

1. Higher Blood Perfusion

Once there is a spasm in a muscle, blood flow to the area will become restricted. That can slow healing and restoration in a muscle. As a massage practitioner works with a muscle, circulation is stimulated, and oxygen and nutrition can penetrate a muscle and make healing a reality.

2. Relaxation of Muscle

Massage is most effective at working with tension produced through muscle knots. By putting pressure onto the knot, the massage practitioner can break down the contracted muscle tissue and free tension that has accumulated in the muscle tissue. It can cause an immediate sensation of relief and allow for a return of a relaxed state in the muscle tissue. If you have ever received a deep tissue massage, 

3. Relaxation Stimulation

Massage naturally relaxes your physique. As your physique is being massaged, your physique releases endorphins, and naturally, your physique works as a pain killer. Not only will your aches and kinks in your physique ease, but your physique will have a relaxed, peaceful sensation, too. That’s why most everyone feels so relaxed after a massage. It’s not your physique alone that takes a break, but your entire physique takes a break from tension.

4. Repels Muscle Knots in

For an individual with a predisposition towards developing muscle knots, regular massage therapy can effectively serve in preventing them. By keeping your muscles relaxed and flexible, massage can discourage them from forming in the first instance. Besides, through its role in realigning any imbalances in your muscles and poor postures, massage therapy can allow you to have healthy muscles overall.

Massage therapy isn’t a one-fits-all sort, and a variety can be used to iron out a muscle knot. Some of the most useful ones include:

1. Deep Tissue Massage

One of the best therapies for a muscle knot is deep tissue massage. With slow, deep pressure, a practitioner can work deeper tissue and connective tissue in a muscle. It is particularly effective for long-standing tension in a muscle and can effectively work in freeing a resistant knot.

2. Swedish Massage

For a less tension-filled massage, a Swedish massage might suit your needs. It involves long, gliding strokes that work out tension in the muscles and stimulate circulation. It won’t necessarily be a deep massage, such as a deep tissue massage, but can effectively calm minor tension in the muscles and even break up knots in their path.

3. Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger point therapy addresses specific areas of tension in a muscle, or “trigger points.” There are knots in these areas, and through applying pressure to them, a practitioner can make them release and become less tight and painful. It is a therapy that works best with small, localized knots.

4. Hot Stone Massage

For a therapeutic session, hot stone massage can calm tension in constricted muscles and stimulate circulation. With warm stones, deep pressure can be delivered, and that can work particularly effectively in larger spaces, including the shoulder and back, to work out kinks in the muscles.

If it’s your first ever massage for a muscle knot, then I’m guessing that you have no idea at all about what to expect. Let me give a quick rundown of a massage session:

• Consultation: In your consultation, your tension and problem areas and areas of concern and pain will be addressed with your massage therapist in advance, and any areas that will necessitate individual care will be examined.
• Massage Technique: In your case, your practitioner will utilize a technique best for your knots in your muscles. She will apply lighter pressure initially and then apply added pressure in relation to your needs.
• Make sure to speak with your therapist during the session. Let them know if it’s too much tension or whatever doesn’t sit with you, even if it’s not a significant problem but simply not a best fit for your comfort zone.
• Post-massage care: After a massage, you will become a little sore for a day or two, especially when deep tissue work is involved. That is perfectly healthy and will soon pass in a matter of days. Drinking a lot of water afterwards can even work in your favor in terms of washing out toxins.

Whereas massage can work beautifully for ironing out kinks in your muscles, a range of techniques can actually be done at home in a hope to prevent them in the first place.

• Practice correct posture: Check your posture, specifically when working at a computer for long periods of time. Sit in an ergonomically correct, supportive seat with your lower back and stand periodically to stretch and move around.
• Hydrating: Hydrating keeps your muscles flexible and wet, lessening your opportunity for a cramp and a knot.
• Stretch regularly: Add a stretch to your daily routine. Stretching keeps your muscles flexible and reduces your opportunity for tightening them.
• Reduce Muscle Knots: Muscle knots can develop when your body tenses and holds onto tension, and one of the biggest culprits for tension is stress. Learn to manage your tension and your stress, and your muscle knots will suffer less, too.

If your problem with muscle knots, for whatever reason, have been driving you mad, then massage therapy can make a significant impact. Not only will your immediate issue ease, but your long-term healthy muscles will flourish, too. Whatever your deep tissue, your Swedish, your whatever else, your most important thing is to find a therapy that will work for your issue.

Keep in mind that everyone gets muscle knots, and don’t have to let them run your life. With a little TLC and proper care, adios painful knots and hello to feeling fabulous in no time is a reality. So, have a massage for your muscle knots yet? I say go for it and your muscles, and your state of mind, will thank you.