Some patients always feel like they have muscle knots that continue to return. A recent article published in The Conversation offers some clues and some advice. I also offer additional points of view. According to an exercise physiologist and Assistant professor of Exercise physiology, the knots you detect in your muscles, which may feel as small as a marble or even as large as a golf ball, are called myofascial trigger points. The fascia is the thin layer of connective tissue that surrounds the muscle. As he describes it, when exercising, we experience minor to moderate damage to some of the fibers in the muscle and the fascia above. As patients in our office have learned, the fascial system, or superficial fascial lines, according to Myers, the author of Anatomy Trains, has its own blood supply and nerve supply and is largely responsible for how we move. The clumps, as the author describes them, are a result of these small muscle and fascial damages and inflammation. Myofascial release and massage are helpful in the management of these knots; however, they develop over and over again if the fascial system has adapted poorly and does not allow proper movement. If this happens, exercise does not make you stronger, but it does make you less efficient. This is because over time, tight fascia will change how you move and how you handle both gravity and your weight. In our office, patients are shown their firing patterns and the adaptations that are adversely affecting them. The tight neck you are constantly blaming on stress and relieving temporarily in the gym may actually be a problem in the lower part of the body. Understanding the fascial patterns in a holistic, whole-body fashion is the only way to fully understand why your shoulder and neck knots up. While working on the trigger points can offer great relief, the mechanism behind why they happen will cause them again and again. You can read the article in the conversation below. You can prevent muscle knots by improving the mechanisms causing them. Chiropractors trained in myofascial release and sports medicine can be immensely effective in getting to the cause behind your muscle knots by improving how you move and how your body functions. What Are Muscle Knots? An Exercise Physiologist Explains What Those Tight Little Lumps Are and How to Get Rid of Them This past weekend, I worked with the Jersey Shore Wave, a pro women’s football team, and one of the players had right shoulder blade pain and knots, as she described them. She was very surprised when I improved the problem by working on the left leg and hip flexors first, the right shoulder second, the left foot third, and then a spinal adjustment, which improved how her shoulder functioned. The treat-test-treat protocol helps show how effective the treatment is and how things work post-treatment. This type of treatment is more the norm rather than the exception in our offices. A thorough evaluation can help you get surprisingly effective and safe care. Do knots in the shoulders and neck continue to return? Need help today? Book online.