How Does Massage Therapy Help To Find And Eliminate Knots? | Dynamic Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Inc. (2023)

FAQs

How do massage therapists get rid of knots? ›

Massage therapy techniques can help to relieve, reduce or even prevent muscle knots. Deep tissue massage or sports massage techniques work on the muscles that are tight or have the knots. Trigger point massage can be firm and specific pressure to the areas of restriction or “knots” and cause release of that knot.

Sports massage is proven to release and reduce tension in muscles, improve circulation and encourage the removal of waste products such as lactic acid during high intensity activity and can help to relax the body. All of this helps promote recovery and reduces the chance of muscle injury.

Massage therapy helps treat knots by increasing circulation and improving blood flow, which loosens stiff muscles and relieves tension. Choose from several types of massages and get a thorough consultation with your massage therapist to address specific pain points.

Massage helps to increase blood flow and circulation, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. This hastens the repair process and allows the body to heal more quickly. Massage therapy also helps to relieve pain and muscle tension, which can make the recovery process much more comfortable.

A deep tissue massage is the most effective treatment for muscle knots. When a muscle is tight, it limits the blood flow in that area so by using a massage as a treatment technique for this works by increasing blood flow to the muscle, which can in turn reduce inflammation and ease any soreness and pain.

Massage therapy has also been known to decrease delayed onset muscle soreness, in addition to stiffness and fatigue after a game, practice or exercise of any kind. Massages improve an athlete's range of motion, soft tissue function, athletic performance and makes them more aware of their muscle tone.

Restorative sports massage can relieve muscle tension, improve recovery time, keep muscles and tendons flexible, and enhance training. Consequently, sports massage can support an athlete for optimum performance by reducing muscle tension and inflammation and by increasing flexibility, range of movement and endurance.

sports massage improves performance directly, it may somewhat improve flexibility and DOMS. Our findings help guide the coach and athlete about the benefits of massage and inform decisions about incorporating this into training and competition.

If you have a knot in your neck, try massaging the area with your fingers and applying heat or ice. Do therapeutic neck exercises, like shoulder shrugs, or stretches, like head-to-hand release and Cat-Cow. When done regularly, these moves may help relieve the pain and tension of a knot.

What causes tight knots in muscles? ›

Some common causes of muscle knots include: Muscle overuse or repetitive strain injury from activities like lifting heavy boxes or holding a phone between your ear and shoulder for long periods. Muscle underuse from an inactive lifestyle, prolonged sitting, or bed rest.

Massage benefits can include: Reducing stress and increasing relaxation. Reducing pain and muscle soreness and tension. Improving circulation, energy and alertness.

A massage aims to improve recovery to help reduce pain by relieving muscle tightness and tension. Muscle tightness and tension is relieved through an increase in tissue elasticity. An increase in tissue elasticity occurs as muscle temperature increases due to an increase in blood flow.

This helps to break up scar tissue that forms following an injury and reduce tension in muscle and tissue. It may also promote faster healing by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation.

Muscle knots often result from joint dysfunction and a restricted range of motion in the body. To address this, chiropractors will adjust your joints and restore your range of motion using hands-on chiropractic manipulation techniques. Gentle stretching also reduces muscle tension, allowing muscle knots to relax.

Usually within a week or two a muscle knot will resolve on its own. Getting a massage is one option to help speed up recovery when you have muscle knots.

Injuries from overuse, heavy lifting or repetitive motions. Poor posture, which often results from a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise. Tension from mental and emotional stress. Direct injury such as a break, strain, tear, twist or strain.

Some of these lumps can reduce with treatment (if seen quick), but the longer it sits there untreated the more likely it will become permanent!

FACT: These “knots” are technically called “trigger points.” Unlike a “muscle spasm” which is a very active contraction of the entire muscle, trigger points are a more specific small part of a muscle. Trigger points often “refer” pain to other parts of our bodies… sometimes quite far away.

What happens when a trigger point is released? ›

How does trigger point release (or therapy) work. Trigger point releases relax your muscles and reduce pain by disrupting the core positive feedback loop. This can be done at any of the stages. For example, massage will help relax the muscles, and increase blood flow which helps remove waste products.

Sports massage can offer symptomatic relief for muscle tightness, stiffness, chronic muscle knots (myofascial trigger points), tension, back pain, rotator cuff injuries, sciatica and other aches and pains. If you are playing sport it's also great for aiding recovery and preventing injury.

Deep tissue massage: Deep tissue massage is one of the best treatments for tendonitis. Combining firm pressure and slow strokes, this massage technique reaches the deeper layers of muscle and fascia to treat chronic pain and encourage repair & recovery.

The physical effects of sports massage

Increased localised blood circulation and temperature, during massage help the tissues become more pliable. This all helps restore flexibility and repeated bouts of stretching may lead to changes in connective tissue, plus an increase in the length of muscle fibres.

We absolutely know it is true, stress causes knots. Some people hold their tension in their shoulders, others their neck, others their back, but if you've ever been to a good massage therapist for recurrent knots, odds are they've talked to you about stress reduction, and it probably made perfect sense.

To keep your body in good condition and maintain health, we recommend getting a massage every 3-4 weeks. This will help to prevent injury, pain, and tension build-up in the muscle fibers, as well as address any other issue before it becomes serious.

Usually within a week or two a muscle knot will resolve on its own. You can also help speed the process of recovery.

What diseases cause muscle knots? ›

Myofascial pain is a common syndrome. If you have myofascial pain syndrome, you may feel pain and tenderness in muscles in a certain area of your body. This pain and tenderness is often related to one or more “trigger points.” To the touch, trigger points feel like small bumps, nodules or knots in your muscle.

While muscle knots are common, they are not completely harmless. If a muscle knot is so severe that it causes intense pain, it may be tearing at micro fibers of muscle tissue. With time, this tearing can cause scarring, and the tissue loses elasticity, which is part of why the body is so flexible.

Swelling or inflammation

Muscle knots can make your muscles feel tight and contracted, even when you're trying to relax. The affected area can even become inflamed or swollen.

The physical, emotional and spiritual are all connected and interrelated in the human body. That is why anxiety and prolonged stress not only cause mental symptoms but can also lead to physical ailments such as muscle knots, tension or stiffness.

This popping or crunching feeling is breaking down what has built up, the body is then more able to flush out these toxins. Some clients may wince at this feeling others describe it as a 'good pain' and it instantly feels better once this has been done.

A massage gun can also help to work out knots in one particular area pre-workout. “After an active warmup on the bike, for instance, you can run the device over any area that still feels tight for 10 seconds or so, two to three times, to give it a little extra attention,” she says.

Muscle knots often result from joint dysfunction and a restricted range of motion in the body. To address this, chiropractors will adjust your joints and restore your range of motion using hands-on chiropractic manipulation techniques. Gentle stretching also reduces muscle tension, allowing muscle knots to relax.

Untreated muscle knots can cause chronic pain and lead to other health issues. See your health care provider if you've taken measures to relieve your muscle pain, but it persists. You should also call your doctor if pain becomes severe and is interfering with your daily life and well-being.

Yes, a massage therapist can feel your energy when giving you a massage. Clients release energy throughout the massage. You store your emotions, memories, and thoughts inside you, and massage allows them to come up and be released. That is why massage therapists may feel fatigued when working on clients.

Do Tight muscles cause knots? ›

Those tight bands of muscles we refer to as muscle knots or trigger points. A muscle knot can develop for several reasons: Intense exercise in the affected area of the body. Muscle strain.

An acute muscle injury or continual muscle stress may lead to the development of trigger points. For example, a spot within or near a strained muscle may become a trigger point. Repetitive motions and poor posture also may increase your risk. Stress and anxiety.