Your muscles contract and relax throughout the day. These natural muscle movements assist in musculoskeletal control, but what happens when there’s too much tension in your muscles? Extreme muscle contractions can lead to neck and shoulder pain, especially if you’re under a lot of stress. If you can feel a hard, inflamed spot in your shoulders, you may be dealing with a painful shoulder knot. Here’s what you can do to relieve that bothersome muscle tension.
Relieve Your Shoulder Knot with a Deep Tissue Massage
Massage therapists are trained in releasing tight muscle knots. If you’re dealing with a persistent shoulder knot, consider getting a deep tissue massage. It can be difficult to reach your shoulders by yourself at the depths you need, so going to a licensed massage therapist is best.
Deep tissue massages relax the deepest layers of your muscles. They may feel uncomfortable in the moment, but afterward, you’ll experience intense muscle relaxation.
Self-Massage Techniques
If you can’t get to a massage therapist, use a hard ball (like a baseball) to work the tension out of your shoulders. You can do this by placing the ball between your shoulders and a wall and pressing into the ball with your body weight.
Alternatively, you can use a vibrating massage tool to work the tension out of your shoulders. Ask a friend or partner for help if you can’t reach the knot with the instrument.
Alternate Hot and Cold to Reduce Inflammation
Tense shoulder knots are usually inflamed, which leads to redness and soreness in the area. To relieve inflammation, alternate between hot and cold exposure. Use a heating pad for 10 to 20 minutes, then replace it with an ice pack for the same amount of time.
Alternating between heat and cold reduces swelling in your body. When you apply heat, your muscles relax, and blood flows to the area. After you apply a cold compress, your blood vessels constrict, which helps relieve painful inflammation in your shoulders.
You may find that this releases the shoulder knot on its own. However, most people must try other therapies to fully get rid of tense muscle knots.
Reduce Stress and Clear Your Mind
It might sound counterproductive to focus on your mental health while you’re experiencing physical pain. However, shoulder knots often form because of stress. If you carry psychological stress in your neck and shoulders, your muscles are more likely to tense up and create knots.
Try different stress relief techniques to reduce tension and allow your muscles to fully relax. You can try a hot bath, journaling, meditation, and yoga.
Stretch Your Shoulders and Neck
As you’re doing yoga to try to relax, opt for some deep neck and shoulder stretches. Always pay attention to your comfort levels as you do this. Stretches shouldn’t hurt, although you may experience mild soreness from the shoulder knot.
Use a yoga block if you need extra support, relax your muscles, and allow the stretches to gently pull your shoulder muscles out of the painful knot.
Trigger Point Therapy
Your body has specific spots that carry muscle tension and tightness. These are called trigger points. Pressing on trigger points may relax the muscles that are creating your shoulder knot. You can visit an acupuncturist or press your trigger points yourself.
Everyone’s body is different, but there are some widely recognized trigger points along your back and neck. Pressing these may relax your shoulder muscles and get rid of the inflamed knot.
The back of your neck and several spots along your spine contain trigger points. Experiment with safe amounts of pressure to see which ones feel relaxing to your shoulder muscles. You may need a friend or partner to help you press these trigger points.
Another way to put pressure on trigger points is to use an acupressure mat. These mats contain small plastic spikes that press into your muscles and relieve tension over time. Laying on an acupressure mat can produce similar benefits to acupuncture and trigger point therapy.
Medication: Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers
If you’ve tried everything and your shoulder knot is still causing you pain, you can try over-the-counter medication. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are affordable and work to reduce inflammation throughout your body. With less inflammation in your shoulders, you could experience blissful pain relief.
The downside to this method is that the pain relief is temporary. Once the over-the-counter medication wears off, you’ll have to take another dose to experience relief. Medication can help for short periods, but it’s best to address the underlying cause of your muscle knots to get rid of them for good.
Reduce Inflammation and Muscular Pain With Stem Cell Treatments
Sports injuries, orthopedic problems, and musculoskeletal conditions can all lead to muscle knots and pain. Stem cell therapy assists in reducing inflammation and relieving discomfort so you can experience a better quality of life.
Stem cells can form into almost any type of specialized body cell. This adaptability means they play a key role in regenerating damaged tissues, which can help people with sports injuries and other muscular problems.
If you experience chronic inflammation and pain, stem cell therapy offers a drug-free alternative for you to try. These treatments often use your own stem cells, so there’s minimal risk of adverse side effects. Alternatively, you may use donor stem cells.
Prevent and Treat Shoulder Knots and Muscle Tension
Your muscles can form knots for many different reasons. What’s important is addressing the root causes of your chronic inflammation and muscle pain.
No matter what path you choose, it’s important to reduce mental stress and keep your body healthy. Gentle physical activity can improve your mobility and reduce your chances of developing muscle knots in the future.
If at-home techniques and treatments aren’t working, you may need a more advanced solution, like regenerative medicine. Consider what works best for you and work toward a pain-free life.
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