What is a muscle knot, why does it happen and what you can do to relieve it
- flutterbybeautyktd
- Oct 21, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 28, 2019
Muscle knots are a build up of tension, Knots are comprised of tense muscle fibres and can also be described as a build up of lactic acid. You may have heard of lactic acid building up during work outs, this is why it is so important to stretch before and do a cool down after to prevent pulling a muscle and too much tension building up.
Majority of people do carry tension especially at the top of our shoulders, it only becomes an issues when it starts to cause you ache and pains. When we are stressed we tend to tense our shoulders without realising and this is what adds to our tension . When we go into winter our tension seems to be the worse and that's because it is. In cold weather just like when we are stressed we tend to tense up all our body muscles causing the knots.
Different occupations can be worse on the body, physical work more than others however the worst culprits for bad tension is anyone working at a desk. Been constantly sat at a desk in one position causes strain into your arms and neck and shoulder area. Another known bad occupation for tensions is hairdressers. For them they tend to keep their promnate arm locked in one position in order to work with their clients. These are just example but they are many occupations that can cause tension and obviously these are things we cant avoid but there is many things in which you can do to help your tension suppose to making it worse.
If you have ever obtained an injury it is likely that you then will hold its self slightly different to protect where your sustained the injury. As the body then heals it can be hard to go back to the correct posture which you had before the accident. Even if you think everything is fine and healed it is likely that you still hold yourself slightly different to what you did before which can be the cause for constant tension build up and sometimes restricted movements in certain areas. This applies for both direct injury ( such as a break, strain, tear, twist or strain )and overuse injuries ( heavy lifting or repetitive motions)
*Stretch every morning and evening
*Find time to regularly soak muscles in the bath, if you really suffer with tension this could be something you do before every day (use Epsom salt to help ease and heal the muscles)
*Ensure you have a Regular massage- You may need a massage more regular to start with depending on how bad your tension is. After a few session the tension should have eased off in which it would then be ideal to leave longer between massage sessions.
*Have Hot Stone Therapy or alternative between general massage and the hot stones. Hot stone therapy is amazing for tension. The Balinese stones are heated up and contain their heat to evenly disrupt it across the working muscles. The heat enable the muscles to relax down a lot faster and allows us to work much deeper without discomfort.
*Massage yourself! Obviously having a massage therapist to realise your tension is the best form of massage but remember you can do it for yourself too. Use a plain carrier oil and add 3-4 drops of Ginger Essential oil and use this every morning and evening in areas of concern.
*Ensure you are getting enough sleep- at least 7/8 hours is the recommended time to have, if you are run down at all its practical to have more sleep to allow your body to heal itself and the same works for muscles. If your muscles are really achy and tired do the tips above and get an early night its amazing how much better you can feel for it.
*If you sit for long periods throughout the day try some quick chair yoga routines or just take 15 minutes to exercise and keep your muscles moving.
*Heat and Cold compress- I will be soon doing an article with the differences between heat compress and cold.
*Attend a Pilates or Yoga class
*Be aware of your posture- leave yourself post it notes maybe on your desk to remind you to keep your back straight
*If you work at a desk ensure that your monitor and chair is set up correctly
*Invest in a back brace
Thank you for your time reading this article and I hope it has given you some good advise.
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