Knots in your back muscles are caused by strain on the muscles (generally.) “Knots” are actually tender, contracted areas of soft tissue or muscle.
Massage therapy may be an excellent “tool” to help you get rid of your knots or muscle spasms.
How does a massage therapist find your knots?
Sometimes he or she will kind of just run into them. Either it feels ‘hard’ when all of the other tissue felt softer or a tight area will actually slow the gliding hand of a therapist as it explores and warms muscles.
A muscle knot or spasm feels like a small tight area that is harder then the surrounding tissue and perhaps raised. Sometimes it feels like a pea or even as big as a tennis ball. Sometimes nearby tissue is also tight.
Sometimes muscle knots are so obvious that just about anyone can feel them. Sometimes knots are hidden or less obvious but a skilled massage therapist can still find your knots and knows how to treat them.
Many clients come for a massage for the sole purpose of getting rid of a knot. They already know that something’s going on and they don’t like it.
It’s helpful when a client says that an area feels tender. Then the therapist knows for sure it may be a tight muscle or knot. Saying that something feels tender gives a good clue to the massage practitioner.
Other times a lump or bump is just nothing much–maybe the edge of a bone or cyst or scar tissue or just the edge of a muscle.
But should you or your massage therapist blast away on your knots?
“Knot” necessarily!
Sometimes the knot or muscle spasm will release from pressure. That’s why tennis ball therapy works for certain knots.
But sometimes a knot will NOT release because it can’t. It’s a different type of knot.
In that case, there are muscles pulling on the knot and as long as they keep pulling the knot can’t relax. Think of a rope with people pulling on both ends…the rope cannot relax!
In that case, a skilled manual therapist could release the muscles (usually in the front or sides of the body and neck) that are causing the muscle knot in your back. They can get rid of the cause.
Unfortunately, many massage therapists don’t have the training or experience to know how the body works and where to treat in order to get rid of knots.
Some just keep blasting on the knot in hopes it will release.
Then you end up sore and bruised and still have the miserable knot!
Fortunately, there is an easy, do-it-yourself course that I created just to help people like you. Click here to learn more: Knots In Your Back Gone!
You can get rid of those miserable knots in your back forever!
