Everything you wanted to know about muscle knots

Your questions about muscle knots

What are muscle knots?
What causes muscle knots?
What is the best treatment for muscle knots?
How do you release a muscle knot?
Do muscle knots go away on their own/ Why do muscle knots keep coming back?
Can you massage a muscle knot?
Does vibration help muscle knots?
Do NSAIDS help muscle knots
Does fibromyalgia cause muscle knots?
Do muscle knots affect sports and athletics performance?
What is the difference between muscle knots and acupressure points?
Do muscle knots cause headaches
Muscle knot therapy for various conditions

Answers to your questions

What are muscle knots?

Muscle knots are those tender lumps in your muscles that therapists find. Of course there is no actual knot in the muscle, but they feel like knots and their pain and tightness are certainly real. They are actually part of your muscle that has tightened and won’t let go, bunching up to form the lump. This causes the muscle to tighten which presses on the blood vessels restricting blood flow, further exacerbating the problem.

For more information

Your complete guide to (myofascial) trigger points

How do you release a muscle knot

A muscle knot release is where the tightened part of the muscles is helped relax or “release” This allows the muscle to relax, allowing blood to flow more freely, and importantly relieve pain. The classic way to release a muscle knot is known as “ischaemic compression” or “pressure release”. To do this pressure is applied to the lump while the pain gradually fades. Therapists often do this with their thumbs or elbows, but it can be done with various tools.

While this is the way therapists have been releasing muscle knots for probably centuries we now have alternate methods of doing the same thing, often less painfully and more effectively. Some therapists use needles and laser, but arguably the easiest to apply and most effective is the use of vibration massage, (not massage guns) . For a complete description of how to release a muscle knot please see our article How to release a trigger point yourself

Do muscle knots go away on their own/ Why do muscle knots keep coming back

The simple answer to this is that muscle knots, muscle tightness, and the resultant environment caused by reduced blood flow develop slowly over time, starting long before they ever become painful. What usually happens is that treatments or courses of treatment merely settle the muscles knots down enough so they stop hurting, but the knots themselves, the muscle tightness and the reduced blood flow are still there. Of course the muscle knots keep growing and are eventually re-aggravated.

We discuss this and the solution in our article Why do trigger points keep coming back . In summary, to eliminate muscle knots completely you need to continue therapy after the pain goes, long enough to diminish and eliminate the problems completely. As we discuss, doing this using professional therapies would be very expensive, but self applied vibration massage, (not massage guns) is an effective option that can be easily and in-expensively self applied.

Can you massage muscle knots

You certainly can massage muscle knots. We give an excellent example in this article

Do NSAIDS (anti-inflammatory drugs) help muscle knots

NSAIDS do not help diminish or eliminate muscle knots. They just relieve the pain. In one clinical trial self applied trigger point therapy and NSAIDS were directly compared. The NSAIDS produced a small reduction in pain only, while the self applied trigger point therapy gave a large improvement in pain and functionality. For details please see our article Is massage better than NSAIDS

Does fibromyalgia cause muscle lumps

It is actually the other way around. Muscle lumps are a big (untreated) cause of fibromyalgia. In summary, pain from untreated muscle lumps bombards the nervous system causing it to become sensitised. Scientists have relieved fibromyalgia by injecting the muscle knots with anaesthetic, stopping them from bombarding the nervous system. Of course anaesthetic wears off so that was only a temporary solution to show cause and effect. The long term solution would be to effectively eliminate the muscle knots. For more information please see our article How to massage for fibromyalgia

What is the difference between muscle knots and acupressure points

Muscle knots and acupressure points are about 97% the same points. Centuries ago people found these points. Without science as we know it existing they made up the best story they could. In more recent times scientists have investigated these points, calling them (myofascial) trigger points. Although basically the same points the way they are used is different. If you have a specific condition and see a traditional acupuncture therapist he or she will determine which points to treat based on what people with similar symptoms had centuries ago. On the other hand a therapist using “trigger points” will identify which points to treat based upon scientifically determined factors. For more information please see our article What Is The Difference Between Trigger Points, Acupressure Points, And Other Pressure Points

Do muscle knots cause headaches

Muscle knots in the head and neck muscles have been shown to be a major cause of the most common form of headache: tension headache. Trials where these have been treated gave excellent relief, This is something you can easily do yourself. For more information please see our article Self Massage And Trigger Point Therapy For Headaches And Migraines

Muscle knots and their self treatment for various conditions

In this section we will link to resources to help you with muscle knots for various conditions. These will use the technical term “trigger points’, but you know its the same thing.

• Shoulder pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches and migraines
• Tennis elbow
• Back pain
• Calf pain