Many of us can relate to that feeling of tightness and soreness when we have a knot in one of our muscles. While most of us are familiar with knots, as we call them, many of us don’t know what they actually are and how you should treat them, which is why we’ve put together this advisory article on using a massage gun for knots.
Now, to answer that important first question, what is a knot? Knots and tight spots form in the muscles when muscle fibres or fascia tense and tighten. The correct term for muscle knots is myofascial trigger points. Myofascial trigger points can cause pain and an affected range of motion, meaning that it’s best to treat them early as there is no quick fix! Trigger points often cause referred pain, which means that when the trigger point is pressed on, the pain can also be felt in nearby muscles.
Read on to find out how these knots occur and how best to treat and prevent them.
What are muscle knots?
Muscle knots are small bumps on the muscle and can be painful to the touch. A few common causes include:- Stress
- Injuries
- Poor posture
- Sitting for too long
Knots often occur in the back and shoulders, especially for people who spend long periods of time sitting at a desk without moving or stretching regularly. Muscle fibres and fascia (which is the thin layer of connective tissue beneath the skin) will tense and tighten, which will result in these ‘knots.’
How to prevent them?
Treating muscles knots will never be a quick fix. You can apply the following techniques regularly to help break down the knots and ease pain.
- Stretch It is often extremely helpful to perform stretching exercises daily in order to release tension
- Exercise Simple aerobic exercises that involve arm movements help to move the shoulders and back, increasing blood supply and working to loosen these knots
- Hot and cold compression By applying hot and/or cold compressions, you can benefit your muscles. The cold helps to reduce swelling, and the heat relaxes and loosens stiff muscles.
- Use muscle recovery tools By giving yourself a massage regularly with recovery tools such as muscle guns and foam rollers, you can have an extremely positive impact on the state of your muscles.
By using a muscle massage gun, you will experience benefits like no other. Try the Pulseroll percussion massage gun for the most effective self-massage. It uses percussion therapy to get deep into the muscle tissue and break up knots and tension.
A massage gun delivers strong pulses and vibrations into the muscle tissue promoting better circulation, relaxing the muscles, and easing pain and soreness. A muscle gun also enables you to apply focused pressure to an area, similar to a deep tissue massage. You can use to it target specific muscle groups and smaller areas that are particularly causing you pain, such as knots in the muscles.
If you’re looking for the best handheld massager for knots, Pulseroll is here for you. Visit our shopping hub for more product information!
