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How do you get a muscle knot, and how to avoid them. The 3 Minute Plan!

A muscle knot (trigger point) can occur due to several reasons. They typically occur because a particular muscle is being overworked. It is important that we understand the reasons because they assist in making a diagnosis otherwise “Misdiagnosis or inadequate management of this disorder after onset may lead to development of a complex chronic pain syndrome” (5).  The muscle overwork causes the muscles to produce more significant amounts of lactic acid. Another reason for trigger points can be trauma to the muscle due to some injury. These two are the most common ways you can get a muscle knot. Other risk factors for muscle knots include:

  1. sitting for a long time in awkward positions
  2. nutritional deficiencies
  3. severe lack of exercise or movement
  4. generalized fatigue
  5. lack of sleep
  6. hormonal changes like menopause
  7. intense cooling of muscles (such as when sleeping in front of an air conditioner)
  8. emotional problems
  9. other pain or inflammation conditions

Avoid the Knots!

To avoid trigger points from developing, you can do several things. It is said (2) “that acute trauma or repetitive micro-trauma may lead to the development of a trigger point. Lack of exercise, prolonged poor posture, vitamin deficiencies, sleep disturbances, and joint problems may all predispose to the development of micro-trauma.” The primary goal should be to avoid repetitive movements and long poor posture inactivity. Here is a list of other things you should avoid to prevent the formation of trigger points:

  1. Avoid Cold environments
  2. Reduce Repetitive movements
  3. Avoid sitting in the same postures for a long duration
  4. Eat healthy and more natural fruits
  5. Make sure you are adequately hydrated

Stretching and even light exercise each day will promote blood flow through muscles to avoid more knots to develop. Supporting that by keeping hydrated (with preferably water), will help flush out extra lactic acid.

3 Minute Plan

Set regular and recurring calendar alerts on your cell phone to remind you to take a break at least every couple hours to stretch, reset your posture, self-massage and drink water. Keep a massage tool nearby to work on tight areas before more pronounced knots set in. Plus, keep a bottle of pure Peppermint essential oil with you to head off headaches and pain areas before they progress. A regular 3 minute break is all you need for beneficial self-care to try to avoid deeper pain issues from setting in. Treat your body good - it deserves it!

 

REFERENCES
  1. Bron, C., & Dommerholt, J. D. (2012, July 27). Etiology of myofascial trigger points - current pain and headache reports. SpringerLink. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-012-0289-4
  2. Alvarez, D. J., & Rockwell, P. G. (2002, February 15). Trigger points: Diagnosis and management. American Family Physician. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0215/p653.html?userguid=unk-1632566170543&condition=other&clientId=&entityId=203&clientSiteId=default&groupId=&tp=WEB_PORTAL
  3. Simons, D. G. (n.d.). Understanding effective treatments of myofascial trigger points. Define_me. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/article/S1360-8592(02)90271-8/fulltext
  4. Han, S. C., & Harrison, P. (2007, March 14). Myofascial pain syndrome and trigger-point management. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1098733906800623
  5. Fricton, J. R., Kroening, R., Haley, D., & Siegert, R. (2005, May 15). Myofascial pain syndrome of the head and neck: A review of clinical characteristics of 164 patients. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0030422085903640
  6. Sikdar, S., Shah, J. P., Gebreab, T., Yen, R.-H., Gilliams, E., Danoff, J., & Gerber, L. H. (2009, November 1). Novel applications of ultrasound technology to visualize and characterize myofascial trigger points and surrounding soft tissue. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19887205/
  7. Gerwin, R. D. (n.d.). A Review of Myofascial Pain and Fibromyalgia – Factors that Promote Their Persistence. Sage Journals. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1136/aim.23.3.121
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