Ask a Chiropractor: How to Treat Muscle Knots?

Another muscle knot in your shoulder? Or now it’s in your side? Wherever they appear, muscle knots are painful, limit your mobility and prevent you to do all the things you love, from playing with your children to practicing various sports. Many people choose to ignore muscle knots or aggressively self-massage the area to make them go away. Both approaches are wrong, according to chiropractors. Just like any other types of pain your experience, the muscle knot is the signal of something wrong in your body. The correct way of dealing with these tense muscles is to find their cause and seek a professional’s help for a safe, effective and non invasive treatment plan.

What Causes Muscle Knots?

Before we talk about the way to treat muscle knots, let us help you understand why they happen. Some people are more prone than others to suffer from this condition. They are usually found to be:
•    Dehydrated
•    Maintaining a bad posture at work
•    Suffering from joint issues
•    Performing repetitive physical activities
•    Lifting heavy weights
•    Experiencing sleep problems.
All these are underlying causes of the muscle knots. When a chiropractor is discussing with a patient during the evaluation appointment, their goal is to understand the true cause of the physical discomfort.

How Can a Chiropractor Treat Muscle Knots?

A chiropractor will evaluate the patient and, apart from their own treatment, may refer them to other practitioners who can offer additional therapies. In general, the treatment course for muscle knots involves:

1. Focused Chiropractic Manipulations

The chiropractor will apply specialized massage to the affected area to reduce tension in the muscles. The goal is to increase blood flow to the respective area and restore the full mobility of the muscle. This is not the kind of massage you can give yourself or ask a family member to perform. The chiropractor knows exactly how much pressure to apply and what types of movements to perform on the painful area to relieve strain. 

2. Stretching

Chiropractors encourage patients to treat muscle knots at home, between treatment sessions. One of the simplest ways of reducing tension in your body is by stretching. Actually, stretching should be your daily routine before any kind of intense physical activity, including going to the gym.

3. Reducing the Intensity of Workouts

While muscle knots are usually associated with bad posture and bad sleeping positions, they can also occur if you are working out too hard. Every body has its limits. Top athletes you see on TV have years of daily training, starting with easy routines. So, a chiropractor may recommend you to slow down in the gym if you want to treat muscle knots and stop them from recurring. Instead, you should ask a trainer to coach you and give you a training plan that allows you to reach your fitness goals in a healthy manner.

4. Acupuncture

While many doctors frown upon traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractors recognize the benefits of these practices, tried and perfected over thousands of years. Acupuncture is a minimally invasive technique that relieves tension and stimulates blood flow. On several occasions, chiropractors will refer patients to an acupuncture specialist and recommend a dual treatment that involves both specialties.
Muscle knots may not appear serious, but they can prevent you from enjoying life to the full. Do not live with the pain, find a chiropractor near you in our online registry and book an evaluation appointment!