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What are muscle knots?

Muscle knots are the tight points in the muscle, which also known as trigger points due to myofascial pain syndrome condition, which may be painful even when the muscle is relaxed.

Trigger points may be sensitive and painful when touched or pressed. 

Often the causes of muscle knots :

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Poor or faulty postures
• Frequent and continuous or sudden movements
• Staying in certain postures, such as sitting for long periods.
• Sudden change in muscle temperatures, such as exposure to cold air, when the body is warm and sweaty.

Also, stress and anxiety, dehydration of the body, or even malnutrition can all cause muscle knots in different areas of the body.

Muscle knots may affect any part of the body, but the most common areas that may be affected by these knots are:

• Lower back area 
• Upper back area
• The area between the shoulder blades
• Neck and shoulders

Also, the muscles of the head, buttocks, knees, and calf muscles may all be susceptible to muscle knots.

Symptoms of muscle knots :

• Pain in the form of deep itching and tightness in the affected area.
• Referred pain to the surrounding regions or joints
• The sensitivity of the affected area to touch or pressure.

Also, rare symptoms that a person with muscle knots may complain outside of the affected area:

• Headache.
• Dizziness.
• Sometimes tinnitus in the ears.
• Toothache.
• Earache.

Sometimes it can become irritating to the point of stress, anxiety, and insomnia, and sometimes this may affect the mood and lead to feeling depressed.

Top Treatment Remedies

Here we will talk about the best remedies used to relieve pain and treat muscle knots, as we will talk about the steps to be taken and according to importance.

But you have to know, to get a complete cure for the muscle knots problem, you have to use more than one method together.

Take a rest

In order to give an opportunity to the affected area by muscle knots and to relieve the pain resulting from the inflammation and tightness in that area, you should rest your body for a sufficient period until the pain gradually subsides.

 Maybe this could be by getting enough sleep hours, allowing recovery, and starting the appropriate treatment remedies that we will mention as in the following.

Medications and muscle rubs

Medication therapy is the first line of treatment, and your doctor may prescribe some medications like painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, or even some sedatives, as needed.

You may also need to use some analgesic creams like muscle rubs and apply them directly to the affected area, or ask someone to help you reach the difficult areas such as the lower back or an area between the shoulder blades.

Cold and Hot therapies

Hot/ cold compresses therapy is an effective way to relieve pain directly in the affected area.

Cold compresses relieve pain and reduce inflammation in the affected area. They can also reduce acute muscle strain, which may result in muscle knots, and you can use the cold compress on the affected area for 10-15 minutes.

Hot packs enhance blood circulation and relieve chronic muscle spasm. You can use it for 15-20 minutes on the affected area.

Massage Therapy

Massage is one of the most effective ways to treat the problem of muscle knots.

It has excellent benefits of enhancing blood circulation in the affected area. It thus helps to get rid of toxins and sedimentary deposits in the affected muscle, which causes constant pain and tension.

It also works to relieve muscle spasm in the affected muscles.

 But there are several types of massage, one of them may be suitable for you, depending on the severity and duration of muscle knots, as well as on your personal preferences. As in the following:

Therapeutic manual massage

This type of massage requires a therapeutic massage specialist or physical therapist. You may need to do this for several treatment sessions to get the desired result.

Therapy at home using (Foam roller or Tennis ball)

In most cases, you can do the same message at home, and this effective if done correctly with patience and continuity.

It works to gradually reduce pain and muscle tension due to knots until you get a great result, often.

And you can do this either by using two tools which are widely used to make a release of muscle knots, as follows:

• Use a rubber ball between the affected area (for ex. the lower back, the area between shoulder blades or the upper back) and the floor or a wall with slight pressure on the trigger point (knots) and start the movement gently sometimes in a circular motion, sometimes in a vertical and sometimes horizontal way. 

Repeat for two minutes for each trigger point, with repetition 4- 5 times a day.

• Foam roll can be used in the same manner and at the same frequency.

Swedish specialized massage

This type of massage may benefit you if you suffer from multiple muscle knots in several areas of your body, and here you can seek the help of a specialist. 

Or you can use a suitable massage device for you, some of which may contain great features such as vibrators, which may help you in relaxing large areas of your body. 

Some of them you can carry it with you wherever you go on your trips and travel.

Exercises

Exercises such as muscle stretching are good for your condition, and it is preferable before starting these exercises directly using cold or heat therapy to relieve the pain first and preparing the muscle.

You can also warm up the target muscle with Swedish aerobic exercises or by taking a warm bath.

It’s preferable, to begin with, gradual stretches with hold for 30 seconds, and repetition of at least 3-5 times and 2-3 times daily.

Physiotherapy

In some complicated cases of muscle knots, which may be associated with very severe pain, or serious muscle or joint injuries.

 You may have to seek the help of a physical therapist to assess your condition and develop a treatment plan appropriate to your condition.

Also, you will receive instructions that suit your medical condition. The physical therapist will teach you a set of exercises suitable for the symptoms you are complaining about.

When should you ask for a Medical Attention

Whatever your complaint, but if it affects your performance and your life daily, based on the symptoms you complain of, starting with:

• Pain in the affected area with muscle knots, if the pain persists and increases with time or worsens with movement 
• Indirect symptoms such as the presence of a continuous headache, stress, anxiety, or insomnia.
• If any symptoms appear to cause you daily stress.

 Always seek help from a doctor, physical therapist, or osteopathist.

As you should not delay treating these problems so that they do not worsen and become chronic and lead to other health issues.

Tips to prevent muscle knots problem

• You must always adhere to the correct healthy sitting postures.
• Avoid those bad postures like the PlayStation player’s bad postures, which may result in stress on the muscles and joints and thus the emergence of muscle knots.
• Avoid sitting for long periods, especially in the office, or while driving for long distances when traveling.

And to avoid the occurrence of the muscle knots, you should take a break every 30 minutes of continuous sitting.

• Also, avoid prolonged standing, and get a break every 30-60 minutes to prevent muscle knots in areas such as the lower limbs or lower back.
• Avoid sudden and rapid movements in your daily life, as this is one of the strong reasons for the emergence of muscle knots.
• Before exercising any kind of exercise, you must warm up the muscles well. 

Likewise, at the end of every exercise, you have to cool down to allow the muscles to relax without harm gradually.

• Stay away from vigorous exercising and always try to progress the level of exercise gradually.

For example: avoid carrying heavy weights violently over your muscles’ energy capacity. Also, stop running suddenly and very quickly. Instead, try to run gradually every day after a proper warm-up.

• When your body is warm and sweaty, try to make it cool naturally gradually and stay away from any cold stream.
• When your body or muscles are tired and exhausted after a continuous effort, try to give it enough rest to give the muscles a chance to renew their energy and prevent muscle knots.
• Maintain the fitness of your body, muscles, and flexibility through some stretching exercises and strengthening muscles from time to time during your daily life at home while you watch TV or in the office during working hours and prolonged sitting.
• If you are not an amateur athlete or even a professional, try a light sport such as walking daily in the morning and evening for at least 30 minutes, but try it gradually.
• Practice swimming at least once to twice a week, because it is very effective because it teaches and trains your body muscles to relax. As well as the wonderful properties of water on your body.
• To maintain your muscles vitality, try to get a massage session from a specialist or obtain a powerful massage device for you and your family that you can use at any time, whenever you feel you need it.
• Take care of your nutrition well. Try to get your daily need of foods rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Also, avoid fast food or processed food and replace it with fresh food.
• Drink enough water because your body muscles need it regularly.
• Avoid smoking and alcohol as much as possible, because it is one of the factors that may increase dehydration and reduce blood supply in muscles and the whole body.

Conclusion

Muscle knots a problem can be resolved by different steps.

Each step may take some time from you to try, but in general, you should commit to try until you get the best result. 

But in general, keep your body active on a daily basis, avoid any bad postures or movements, and start to use therapeutic tools and pain killer medications, which will help you stay better.

But if you try several remedies for muscle knots, and there’s an unsatisfied result to you.

Now it’s time to seek help from a specialized doctor.

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Resources:

1. By Myo Clinic Staff, Oct. 10, 2019, ‘myofascial pain syndrome’, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myofascial-pain-syndrome/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20375450.
2. Jay P. Shah, MD, Nikki Thaker, BS, Juliana Heimur, BA, Jacqueline V. Aredo, BS, Siddhartha Sikdar, PhD, and Lynn H. Gerber, MD, 2015 Feb 24,’ Myofascial Trigger Points Then and Now: A Historical and Scientific Perspective’, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508225/Thien Phu Do , Gerda Ferja Heldarskard, Lærke Tørring Kolding, Jeppe Hvedstrup, Henrik Winther Schytz, 2018 Sep,’ Myofascial Trigger Points in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache’, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30203398/
3. Chris Beardsley, Jakob Škarabot, 2015 Oct,’Effects of Self-Myofascial Release: A Systematic Review’, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26592233/
4. Anudeep Saxena, Mayank Chansoria, Gaurav Tomar, Abhyuday Kumar, 2015 Mar,’ Myofascial Pain Syndrome: An Overview’, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25558924/?from_term=%22Myofascial+Pain+Syndromes%2Ftherapy%22%5BMAJR%5D&from_pos=4
5. Xiaoqiang Zhuang 1, Shusheng Tan 1, Qiangmin Huang , 2014,’ Understanding of Myofascial Trigger Points’, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25533832/