Treatment and Prevention of Muscle Knots

Muscle knotting is something we discussed in the previous blog post and we briefly touched about how to address such as issue and that is through good sleep as well as Swedish and Deep Tissue massage. As a recap, muscle knots are strands of muscle that are tensed tightly and remain so even when the rest of the body is at rest. These can be found usually on the back, the shoulders, neck and even on the buttocks. These is an abnormality due to overuse of the muscles and living a sedentary lifestyle and thus can cause quite the pain. Today, we’ll talk more about how to treat and prevent such unwanted tying of the muscle fibers.

Treatment

Muscle stretching: Doing light stretches can do wonders for the muscles as well as relax you for a little bit. This ensures that the muscles get elongated that promote the untying of muscle knots. It’s important to remember to not overdo this though. Cease the stretching if it becomes too painful. Listen to your body. Do not force your body to stretch in a way that is doesn’t want to.

Hot and Cold Therapy: You can do this two ways, one is by pressing something cold on the affected area. Use a bag of ice or something really cold. Leave it pressed for 10 minutes, remove it and let it relax for 15, then place the cold bag again. The alternating tension and relaxation of muscles can help blood flow. If this doesn’t work for you, you can do the hot therapy by taking a warm bath.

Exercise: Doing light movements and long walks (if you can) can get you out of that sedentary lifestyle that causes muscle knots among other unwanted effects on the body. Aerobic exercises are recommended because it promotes overall circulation of oxygen within the blood. Exercises that stimulate the neck and the shoulders are recommend as well, provided they don’t cause too much pain.

Good ol’ Rub: Rubbing affected areas with menthol or camphor can greatly increase the rate of healing for muscle knots. Rubbing the affected area around twice daily can help in the cooling of the tensed muscles. You may do this on your own or have the help of someone to get to those hard to reach areas. If you are unsure of an ointment, do a patch test.

Physical Therapy: This is recommend in more serious cases. There could be other reasons why you developed muscle knots other than what was stated in this article and in the previous one. In any case, a physical therapist will treat your issues accordingly.

Prevention

Remain in good posture all the time. If you are seated for many hours during the day, take time to stand up, walk around and stretch your arms and legs. There are many exercise you can do while you’re in your deskspace or just anywhere where there’s little space. Do not forget your nutrition intake as well; magnesium, potassium, calcium, and many other vitamins can greatly reduce the risk of muscle knots among other diseases. But if you’ve taken all the steps and advices we gave but still the muscle knotting persists, it may be time to seek professional help.