How to Knock Out the Knots

Do you know what is happening when you tense up too much? Your neck, back and shoulders are trying to tell you something when those tiny painful nodules form. Those that are most at risk are those that overuse their muscles or have a sedentary lifestyle. There are treatments and prevention options for those of you that suffer from chronic pain caused by knots. 

What is a Knot?

When the muscle tissue bunches up and forms a knot, the body is protecting itself from injury that may occur from further use. When the knot forms, there is no blood or nutrition reaching the injured area. The lack of blood flow causes pain. It is important to address the knots as soon as possible, some people suffer from what is called referred pain. Referred pain is when you begin to feel pain in a different area of your body that is not at the site of the knot. 

What Causes Knots

Knot form for several reasons. Overuse of your muscles or repetitive motion are a common reason for knots to form. There has no proven relationship between stress and knots. There has been a noted correlation of people that suffer depression, fatigue, extreme stress or anxiety tend to suffer frequently from knots. 

How to Treat Knots

Ignoring the knots, taking aspirin and hoping they will go away is not a recommended treatment. There are various forms of massage that can help treat the knots. My job is to warm and “melt” the bunched up muscle tissue.

Bodywork massage provides an effective treatment. I practice Anma Massage. Anma Massage is the oldest form of massage and originated in Japan. I have found that Anma is a less painful and more relaxing way to work out knots. Treatment can be performed through your clothing, meaning you can remain clothed during your treatment. This also makes it possible and realistic to work out the knocks during your lunch hour.

Prevention

Massage works out and releases persistent knots. Some clients have knots that keep returning. Most likely if you have knots that keep returning, it’s time to evaluate your lifestyle and posture. Recurrence of knots indicates you may have some bad habits.

·         If you sit for long periods of time, get up and stretch throughout the day

·         Keep hydrated

·         Work on creating a routine stretching schedule. This may be a good time to start practicing yoga.