Muscle knots are common and can occur anywhere on the body. They can cause aching and pain in the muscles and joints. When examining a muscle knot also known as myofascial trigger points, it can feel swollen, tense, or like a bump. A particular area where these knots present is in the low back. This happens from excessive wear-and-tear on the lower spine from work, school, daily tasks, and chores. This causes the muscle fibers to tear, and with restricted or no time to rest the area and let it heal properly leads to the fibers bunching/clumping together forming a painful knot.
Muscle Knots In The Lower Back
A muscle knot in the lower back causes aching, soreness, and full-on pain. They tighten and contract even when the muscle is resting. The affected area often becomes inflamed or swollen causing pain and aches to radiate/spread to the gluteal muscles, as well.
Development
These knots develop when the tissue fibers pull apart and bunch up together. They start to stick together and with time the area becomes thicker. This results in the muscle knot. They can be caused by:
Stress
Tension
Poor posture
Muscle overuse
Muscle strain
Sedentary habits
Body dehydration and an unhealthy diet can also contribute to muscle knots. They look like a small bump under the skin. The bump can be red and is usually tender/sore when touched. However, not all muscle knots are visible, but when touched there is soreness and/or pain.
Do They Go Away?
They can go away on their own, but this comes from proper rest and recovery time. However, muscle knots should not be ignored, as even the smallest knot can compress surrounding nerves and muscle tissues. This can cause irritation and weakness. Larger muscle knots could cause movement/mobility issues.
Therapies
Stretching
Stretching will help stretch out and release tight muscle knots. Stretching loosens the muscle fibers and prevents them from becoming attached. Stretches to release a muscle knot include:
Start with these simple stretches/exercises and slowly work up to more vigorous ones.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care can break down muscle knots through various adjustments. They are experts on the musculoskeletal system and understand where the problem is occurring along with the connected muscles.
A chiropractor will palpate the spot where the most pain presents and the surrounding area.
They will begin with a soft massage. This warms up the area getting the blood circulating. The blood circulation helps prevent pain making the adjustment/s far more effective.
Then pressing on nearby joints that the muscle knot is connected to breaks up the tight fibers.
Then the section/area is stretched out. This extends the fibers and prevents them from winding back into a knot.
They will recommend stretches and exercises
Therapeutic Massage
A massage helps to release tension and encourages muscle knots to loosen up and break down. A massage therapist will perform a deep tissue massage or a Swedish massage. Massage helps to release endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkiller. These calm the body and reduce pain. They will also recommend simple massages at home. These can include:
Rolling a massage ball/roller on the muscle knot
Self-massage using the fingers in circular motions on the affected area
Heat and Ice
Hot and cold therapy can calm and prevent inflammation. Heating pads are best if the area has stiffness or is painful. The heat relaxes tight muscles and increases blood flow. Cold therapy stops the swelling. If the muscle knot gets bigger or begins turning red, icing the area is recommended. Alternating between the two can eliminate symptoms and assist with quicker healing.
Body Composition
Building Functional Strength
There are exercises to improve functional strength. Functional training targets specific areas:
Then lift the outside leg up as high as possible and hold for 10 seconds
Repeat on the other side
Do 6-10 repetitions on each side
This exercise builds shoulder, arm, and hip strength. It engages the core and abdominal muscles and improves flexibility in the shoulders, back, and hips.
Disclaimer
The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, CTG*
email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
phone: 915-850-0900
Licensed in Texas & New Mexico
References
Cramer, Holger et al. “Postural awareness and its relation to pain: validation of an innovative instrument measuring awareness of body posture in patients with chronic pain.” BMC musculoskeletal disorders vol. 19,1 109. 6 Apr. 2018, doi:10.1186/s12891-018-2031-9
Malanga, Gerard A et al. “Mechanisms and efficacy of heat and cold therapies for musculoskeletal injury.” Postgraduate medicine vol. 127,1 (2015): 57-65. doi:10.1080/00325481.2015.992719
Often referred to as C1-C7, with the “C” indicating cervical, and the numbers 1-7 indicate the level.
C1 is closest to the skull
C7 is closest to the thoracic chest/rib cage area
The cervical spine is particularly susceptible to degenerative problems because:
Highly mobile with a broad range of motion
Supports the skull
Neck anatomy is complex
Many degenerative problems, including osteophytes or bone spurs, can develop.
Neck Pain Symptoms
Several symptoms can occur and indicate the presence of a degenerative condition:
Neck pain
Pain around the back of the shoulder area
Arm pain, numbness, or weakness
Difficulty with hand dexterity or walking
Conditions That Affect the Neck
The degenerative process begins in any of the joints in the spine, but over time it can cause changes in the other joints.
An example is an intervertebral disc�where:
The disc narrows and the normal movement becomes altered, and the adjacent joints are subjected to force and pressure, which can lead to degenerative arthritis joint inflammation.
Spondylosis or spinal osteoarthritis causing pain in the neck is common. The pain can radiate, or spread, into the shoulder/s or down the arm/s. Arm pain or weakness caused by a bone spur compressing a spinal nerve root can also occur.
Diagnosing Cervical Spine Conditions
Once examined one or more symptoms are likely to be present.
The doctor will ask the patient questions to learn the history of the patient.
A thorough evaluation of the patient will be conducted, including tests to identify the cause of pain and symptoms.
A neurologic examination is performed to rule out neurological disorders
Shoulder examination will also be done to ensure that the symptoms originate from the neck
Diagnostic tests
X-rays for:
Narrow intervertebral disc space
Anterior osteophytes or bone spurs
Spondylosis (ie, arthritis) of the facet joints
Osteophytes created from the uncovertebral joints
CT Scans or computed tomography can show bone changes associated with degenerative spondylosis. Osteophytes can be observed and evaluated.
CT does not provide an optimal evaluation but can sometimes show disc herniations.
MRI magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful tool for cervical spondylosis.
MRI can help doctors identify:
Disc herniation
Osteophytes
Joint arthrosis a type of osteoarthritis
MRI is best for soft disc herniation/s.
Myelogram/CT can be utilized in complex cases that involve multi-level spinal diseases.
It is very useful in delineating bone spurs from safe disc herniations.
Discography is used diagnostically when viewing the lumbar/low back and thoracic/mid-back spine, but using it in cervical spine imagery is debated among doctors.
Treatment Options
After the tests have been performed, a custom treatment plan is created.
Nonsurgical Neck Pain Treatment
Nonsurgical treatment of cervical degenerative disease has been proven to provide excellent results in over 85% of patients.
A multi-disciplinary approach:
Immobilization of the neck�to reduce motion can be beneficial during acute episodes of pain.
Physical therapy (PT) and Chiropracticcan be useful to decrease muscle spasms and return motion.
Non-surgical treatment provides positive long-term pain and symptom relief.
Surgery
A surgeon is likely to consider surgery for a disorder if one or more of the following criteria are met:
Nonsurgical care has been tried and has not worked
Spinal cord dysfunction
Arm pain or weakness (neurological symptoms) that do not go away
Depending on the diagnosis, surgical procedures can vary:
One type of surgery is the removal of the bone spur(s)
Cervical spinal fusion that joins two or more vertebrae
But the surgical procedure is based on the way you the patient wants to go, the diagnosis, general health, and what the spine surgeon recommends.
The surgeon will explain the recommended procedure to you clearly.
Most of the time the preferred approach is anterior or from the front interbody fusion.
A cervical plate could be placed over the interbody device or graft to stabilize the neck. This can avoid the need for a brace after.
A posterior approach from the back of the spine is considered when a disc has herniated laterally or to the side.
Things You Can Do
Cervical spine disorders can be diagnosed�and treated more accurately with today’s advancing technology.
With the guidance and treatment of an expert medical team, patients can expect to see a definite improvement in their condition and symptoms.
El Paso, TX Neck Pain Chiropractic Treatment
Sandra Rubio discusses the symptoms, causes, and treatments of neck pain. Headaches, migraines, dizziness, confusion, and weakness in the upper extremities are a few of the typical symptoms. Trauma from an accident, such as that from an automobile accident or a sports injury, or an aggravated illness because of improper posture can commonly cause neck pain and other ailments. Dr. Alex Jimenez uses spinal alterations and manual manipulations, one of other chiropractic treatment techniques like deep-tissue massage, to reestablish the alignment of the cervical spine and improve neck pain. Chiropractic care with Dr. Alex Jimenez is your non-surgical choice for restoring general patient well-being.
Neck pain is a frequent health issue, with roughly two-thirds of the people being influenced by neck pain at any time throughout their lifetimes. Numerous other health issues can cause pain arising in the upper back, or the spine. Neck pain can result emanating from the vertebrae, or because of muscular tightness in both the neck and the upper back. Joint disruption in the neck causes migraines, and headache, as does joint disturbance at the trunk, or can generate a variety of other symptoms. Neck pain affects about 5 percent of the worldwide population as of 2010, based on figures.
NCBI Resources
A chiropractor evaluates the spine as a whole because other regions of the�neck (cervical), mid-back (thoracic) and low back (lumbar)�can be affected as well. Along with treating the spine as a whole, chiropractic medicine treats the entire person and not just a specific symptom/s. Chiropractors may�educate on nutrition, stress management, and lifestyle goals in addition to treating neck pain.
Hip Labral Tear: Andrew Hutchinson turned to chiropractic care and crossfit rehabilitation after suffering a high ankle sprain and a hip labrum tear for which he went through with surgery to repair it. After being bedridden for months in order to properly recover, Andrew Hutchinson transitioned to chiropractic care and crossfit rehabilitation to regain his strength, mobility and flexibility before returning to play. Although he has suffered other sports injuries, Andrew Hutchinson continues to trust in chiropractic care and crossfit rehabilitation to keep his spine properly aligned and maintain overall health and wellness.
Hip Labral Tear Treatment
Labrum tears in athletes can occur from a single event or recurring trauma. Running may cause labrum tears due to the labrum being utilized more for weight bearing and taking excess forces while at the end-range motion of the leg. Sporting activities are probable causes, specifically those that require frequent hip rotation or pivoting to a loaded femur as in ballet or hockey. Constant hip rotation places increased strain on the capsular tissue and harm to the iliofemoral ligament. This subsequently causes hip instability putting increased stress on the labrum and causing a hip labrum tear.
We focus on what works for you. We also strive to create fitness and better the body through researched methods and total wellness programs. These programs are natural, and use the body�s own ability to achieve goals of improvement, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, surgery, or addictive drugs.
We want you to live a life that is fulfilled with more energy, positive attitude, better sleep, less pain, proper body weight and educated on how to maintain this way of life. I have made a life of taking care of each and every one of my patients.
I assure you, I will only accept the best for you�
God Bless You & Your Health�?
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