Sometimes, trigger points can be accompanied by inflammation and if they remain long enough, what was once healthy fascia is replaced with inelastic scar tissue. The “muscle knot” or trigger point can occur in muscle, the muscle-tendon junctions, bursa, or fat pad. When this patch of muscle tissue spasms the knotted muscle cuts off its own blood supply, which irritates it even more - a vicious cycle. The tissue can become thick, tough and feel knotted. A myofascial trigger point is a small patch of tightly contracted muscle tissue in an isolated spasm, (not a whole-muscle spasm like a “charlie horse” or cramp). The term “muscle knot” is used to describe a variety of painful issues affecting the fascia, such as areas of muscle that are painful with pressure or a highly irritable localized spot. Fascia is one of the 3 types of dense connective tissue (the others being ligaments and tendons) and it extends without interruption from the top of the head to the tip of the toes. Myofascial derives from the words “myo,” which is Greek for muscle, and “fascia,” which refers to the muscle’s tough outer lining that keeps it in place. There are no actual knots involved, of course though they do feel like knots. When you say that you have “muscle knots,” you are actually talking about myofascial trigger points. Though they can be problematical, they can also be quite manageable. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t experienced a muscle knot at some point. Unfortunately these knots are extremely common. We call them “muscle knot” because they feel like our muscles are tied up in – you guessed it – tight knots. Fortunately, foam rolling is a great tool to use to help get rid of those muscle knots. Knots in our muscles can develop suddenly or over time, last for a few hours or the long term and often leaving us confused on how we got them. Many people suffer from sensitive spots in muscle, often called muscle knots.
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