Wait, my muscles are tied in a knot?

Many have heard that there’s a “muscle knot” in the shoulder, legs, neck, or back when they have a painful spot. This tight and tender area is made up of muscle fibres but isn’t actually tied up like we imagine it to be. When I think of a knot, my mind immediately thinks of soft pretzels. It could be because they’re so elegantly knotted but it’s probably just because they’re delicious. To understand a muscle “knot” we have to understand the different types of muscles and how muscle fibres actually work.

There are three types of muscles that are found in humans and animals. The first are called skeletal muscles and we can move them when we want to (voluntary contractions). The second muscle type is called smooth muscle and the body will fire them when it needs to (involuntary contractions). The last type is cardiac muscle and this is only found in the heart (continually makes the heart beat).

A skeletal muscle is made up of thousands of long, individual fibres that all work together to contract and cause movement. These thousands of muscle fibres are bunched into groups that are wrapped up in connective tissue. Each of these bundles come together to form one voluntary muscle. If you think of a rope made of threads, as you pull on the rope, all the threads pull an equal amount of force. Now inside each of these muscle fibres, there are little bands that slide up and down the fibre to make it contract. One band is thick and covered in receptors called myosin. The other is thin and covered in grabbers called actin. When a contraction happens, an electrical signal is sent from the motor control part of the brain which stimulates the process to begin. The actin and myosin bond together over and over to contract the muscle more and more. This is similar to our hands climbing a ladder. Each rung you have to use your hand to reach, grab, hold, and pull. Then release and reach and grab and pull all over again to get higher up the ladder. When the muscle wants to not contract, it has to release the actin and myosin bonds and slide all the way back to normal.

A “knot” occurs when a muscle does not, or cannot, slide back down to normal. This leaves some fibres that are stuck together and we feel a tight and tender bump in the muscle. This sticking together could be because of a lack of energy that is needed to fire these actin and myosin bonds. It could also be that the muscle fatigues from being in the same position and locks in place a bit. Most often, muscle knots can be caused by stress and poor posture, both which like to hold the body in uncomfortable positions. A common example of a stress position is when the shoulders elevate up by our ears and remain tight. That large trapezius muscle, also known as the traps, will have trigger points of tender "knots".

We can “unknot” a “knot” by manually breaking those sticky bonds, stimulating the muscle with electricity, or using movement to change our position. Adjustments, massage, acupuncture, exercise, stretching, and understanding your body position are powerful tools for reducing those tight and tender spots that can occur. If you do feel a muscle “knot” you can massage it out while contracting and relaxing the muscle. This will break up the sticky spot with manual force as well as move the muscle to help it release.

Stay moving and don’t be “naughty” (had to throw a pun in there)

Dr. Cole Maranger, DC