If you have experienced a muscle knot, and most people have, you know what the feeling is. Muscle knots are painful to the touch, and underlie pain with the use of the entire muscle involved.
Sometimes a person is at first only aware of the general muscle soreness caused by a knot, without knowing the muscle knot is present, until, while reflexively reaching back to rub and ease the pain, they find the knot.
On palpation, a muscle knot can feel as large as a grape under the surface of the skin. Less commonly known is that knots even as small as a grain of sand can be found by a professional such as a massage therapist.
So, what are muscle knots?
Before addressing knots specifically, let's look at the structure of muscles.
Simply, most skeletal muscles are comprised of numerous fibers that run parallel and attach on each end to a structure such as bone.
Healthy muscle fibers do one thing - contract - either by conscious command through the nervous system, or reflexively. By doing so, they bring the structures to which they attach closer together, creating movement at joints.
Interestingly, even at their hardest work, flexing for long periods, as a weight lifter might require, muscle fibers work as a team, taking turns bearing the burden, individually sneaking a rest for greater endurance. This happens at a very quick, "flickering" speed.
When a muscle contains a knot, what is happening is, certain fibers are firing actively on a constant basis. While in spasm this way, they can be extremely painful throughout the surrounding area. The pain actually causes the muscle to spasm more, and the cycle continues.
They are also no longer available to lend a hand to the team, so the muscle is in effect less powerful because of the knot. So, a muscle with a knot is both painful, and less efficient.
The cause of the muscle knot is not certain, but doctors believe there is a relationship to an abnormal protein build-up after a release of lactic acid.
A knot is less likely from over-use injury, than it is from short bursts of activity carried out by an otherwise sedentary muscle.
To get rid of muscle knots, apply direct, targeted force to the knots, or see a qualified professional who specializes in assisting with soft tissue injuries, pain, and knots - a massage therapist.
