By Do you feel pain or stiffness in a particular spot of your muscle? It may be a muscle knot. You can experience this type of discomfort in your upper back or legs. Though not harmful, muscle knots can often be a result of chronic pain and cause problems in movements. So, it’s important to know how to get knots out of your back.
Muscle knots are spasms causing tension in some parts of a muscle. Repetitive movements, sitting for long hours in a particular position, or driving for long without breaks can cause muscle knots.
Here is a guide discussing the ways to get rid of muscle knots. Let’s have a look!
How To Get Knots Out Of Your Back?
It’s not easy to diagnose muscle knots as they do not get detected in scans. So, we do not know why the knots or spasms in the muscle cause discomfort or pain. However, some doctors opine that the pain is caused by the spasm restricting the blood flow in the muscle. Further, some doctors say that spasms in the muscles can trigger some nerves. As a result, you feel the pain.
Irrespective of the reason for the pain or discomfort, there are some common methods to get knots out of your back.
Catch Some Rest
Repetitive movements are one of the main reasons behind muscle spasms or knots. So, you must take a break from these activities and take some rest. Rest will help the muscles release tension and promote relaxation.
While taking a rest, you must maintain a comfortable position for your body. You may catch a longer snap, or it can simply be lying in your bed. However, don’t forget to use pillows that will support the tensed or paining muscles.
Hot And Cold Compress
Do you want to know how to get knots out of your back easily? You can try cold and hot compress. The knots or the pain in your muscles will ease out if you go for a combination of hot and cold compress.
For the best results, you can apply an ice pack on your muscle for a while. Then, you can go for a warm compress using a heating pad. Further, while trying the combination, try to figure out which compress is offering you the maximum relief. You can stick to the same to get knots and pain out of your back.
Stretching
I have already mentioned that muscle knots are caused because of long hours of sitting or driving. So, sometimes stretching can help you to get rid of the spasms and knots.
You can also practice stretching to prevent having muscle knots frequently. Further, if you are having spasms or knots in a similar spot in your muscle on a regular basis, you can seek permission from your doctor or consult a physical therapist to do stretching.
Aerobic Exercises
Along with stretching, you can also practice aerobic exercises if you want to know how to get knots out of your back. Especially if you feel pain in your neck caused by muscle knots, you can practice jumping jacks or swimming. You can even try various arm exercises to get rid of this discomfort.
These exercises can boost the blood flow to your muscles. As a result, the tension in the muscles is released, and you feel less pain.
Massaging The Trigger Points
Massaging the trigger points helps to release the tension from the muscles. You can massage the trigger points using your hands or foam rollers for the right amount of pressure on your muscles. However, massaging should be done only by an expert masseur. You should not harm the other muscles or trigger nerves to make the situation more uncomfortable or painful.
Deep Tissue Massage
Deep tissue massage is a type of massage where forceful strokes are applied to make your muscles free of chronic stress.
Further, deep tissue massage is very effective as it penetrates the deeper layers of the muscles and connecting tissues. Deep tissue massage is also a very effective method for healing and alleviating pain caused by injuries.
Professional Massaging
Intense massaging by a professional can be very helpful if you want to know how to get knots out of your back. Assist the therapist or masseur by identifying where you feel the spasm or pain.
The therapist will then identify the muscles causing the pain and offer a massage, releasing tension. You may need to take more than one session of professional massage therapy to get rid of pain completely.
In between the therapy sessions, you must stay away from the activities that have caused the muscle spasms or knots.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a great way to release tension from your muscles. Also, acupuncture therapy promotes the secretion of endorphins or pleasure-inducing chemicals in our body.
In addition, acupuncture makes sure that there is an improvement in the blood flow. As a result, a connection is established between the healthier and spasm areas of your body.
To get the most benefit of acupuncture therapies, you must attend multiple sessions.
How To Get Knots Out Of Your Back If Pain Does Not Go Away?
Sometimes, muscle knots can cause deep pain and soreness in the muscles. Also, the pain may keep you awake and cause difficulty in movement. In such cases, you need to share your problems with the doctor and seek suggestions regarding how to get knots out of your back.
The doctor will decide the course of the treatment. However, some common remedies used to get rid of chronic spasms in muscles are:
- Physical therapies that build muscle strength and endurance
- Administering an injection with a numbing medicine to the spot where you feel the pain
- Dry needling or inserting thin needles into the trigger points to relieve pain
- Myofascial release or the application of gentle pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restricts to ease tension and restore movements
- Ultrasound waves for penetrating muscles and releasing tension
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or TENS therapy to release tension from muscles using electricity of low-intensity
Final Words
Massaging, compressing, and exercises are common methods if you want to know how to get knots out of your back. However, in extreme cases, the doctor will suggest an ultrasound wave, TENS therapy, injections, or dry needling to get rid of the spasm and pain.
For athletes, sometimes the reasons behind the spasms cannot be controlled. However, if you are not into sports, you can easily avoid this problem by staying active throughout the day. So, stay active and be healthy!
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