Muscle Knots and Will a Massage Help?

How to get rid of muscle knots would be really great information at 3:30 AM when your calf muscle seizes up with a “life-threatening” charlie horse! Ever had that happen to you? It’s a stand up in the middle of the night watching your toes curl up and not being able to stand.

Or you wake up in the morning with a neck that will only turn in one direction. That “medical emergency” is named a “crick in the neck”. Another great time to have more information on getting rid of muscle knots.

Or when you have what is termed a huge knot between your shoulder blades. When you take in a breath and it feels like a knife is stabbing you in the back.

Which brings us to one of life’s big questions: “Can you really get a muscle all tied up in a knot?” The professional massage therapists at Bella Reina tell me no, but this is what was explained to me.

Katie first explained to me that muscles are all throughout our bodies. The muscles themselves are elastic by nature and very strong, like the big rubber bands used by the US Post Office. Either through over use or injury or something else (lack of water), we can lose flexibility. Then the muscles start sticking like glue to each other. Once that starts, it’s time for the bumps, knots and lumps to appear.

She also explained that you can also have scar tissue from muscle tears that can be lumpy too. These, she said tend to be smaller ‘lumps’.

Supposedly everyone gets muscle knots which means they are fairly common. And you know just because something is common, it doesn’t mean everyone should have it! Some things are just meant not to be so common.

And muscle knots are one of those things that you want to get rid of. For many reasons, but as it is explained to me, if you don’t fix them, the knots will turn into scar tissue. Also, your posture can be affected. And neither of those are fixable.

So how can you get rid of muscle knots??

1. Stop. If it hurts, rest it. This means that your body is telling you to stop what you are doing.
2. Anti-inflammatory Inside to Outside. Reduce the inflammation near the muscle with cool compresses and reduce the inflammatory foods in your diet.
3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day, so your muscles have plenty of water. Your body is 70% water and it needs constant replenishment. When the muscles knot and cramp, dehydration is often the cause. (FYI- Coffee, alcohol, high sodium foods & lifestyle can all dehydrate you.
4. Exercise and move! – Yes, stretch. The more you use your muscles, the better!
5. Massage – A massage helps to pump oxygen into the muscles to keep them healthy and pliable. A good Bella massage can help break up the muscle knots, and relieve the pain. Katie also explained that the reason a massage works so well to relieve muscle knots is that it puts fresh blood, oxygen and circulation into the muscle. These nutrients to the muscles allow the muscle knots to loosen. The massage therapist will first warm up the muscle to increase the movement. Then it is a matter of moving the knot and loosening up the adhered muscles.
6. Move and Change. Don’t do the same thing for extended periods of time. Like looking down and playing a game on your phone. At work, get up and move around every hour or so. No matter your job (even estheticians), try to change positions often.

So the real answer to the question, Will a massage get rid of muscle knots? The answer is yes. For more information on muscle knots or a massage, call the spa at 561-404-7670.