Wondering if anyone has had chronic tightness/muscle knots in their back, and if so, what have you done to relieve this beyond deep tissue massage?
Yep, all the time. -I find that doing honest hard labor really loosens me up- building crap, tearing down crap. -Sex/getting BJs are a big help. -Cutting out soda and any food with high preservatives like Doritos, fast food, sweets really helps me. -Really, a good healthy diet helps a lot. -Working out hard with heavy weights. -Booze in moderation relaxes. I prefer tap beer- way less preservatives and not pasteurized (or home brew). -Getting a GOOD mattress was one of the smartest things I've ever done. If you think about it, $1k+ for something you spend 1/3 of your life on isn't a big investment at all. -Learn to ignore stress issues in life- see the big picture, don't sweat the small stuff...although it is good to split a big goal into smaller goals.
You need massage to release them and work out adhesions caused over time, but to keep them from coming back you'll need to balance out the muscles involved. For example, a lot of upper back/neck tension comes from your traps, which is involved in shoulder/scapula/neck movements...more than likely they are tight/overactive, which raises your shoulders, sometimes just on one side, which would cause rotation in your neck to one side as well. This uneveness causes muscles to lock up to protect against injury. Massage can loosen up the muscle, especially while you're at rest, but it's likely to engage again once you start moving around again. It can get pretty complicated, especially if this has been a long time issue. the most important thing is to first find out if you've got a unilateral issue. That's worse, since it causes more rotation across your spine and other areas. So basically you need: -Massage to loosen up muscle adhesions/knots to "unfreeze" body and allow it to be moved back into correct posture/alignment. -Might need some form of manipulation to "pop" or "slide" joints back into place. -physical therapy or work out program aimed at activating and strengthening the muscles that aren't firing. In other words, you need to see Tim Grover :grin: It's basically what was being done to Tmac in his rehab videos. <iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9kWJYdwG8Ik" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Wow thanks y'all! RV6, that post was crazy informative...I have a very tight neck/shoulders/upper back area which is indeed all tied to my weak traps. I tore my rotator cuff last year and saw a physical therapist who told me that my weak back is why I have so much tension. Deep tissue massages at chains do nothing for me. I've been going to this Thai Massage Therapy place by my apartment and they do a great job. I pay for an hour but the woman who works on me usually goes for 1.5 hours and only works on my upper back, which is where all the pain is. The problem is, I still feel super tight no matter how long I've been worked on. Last week when I saw my therapist she said that I have like a plate of steel around my neck that she says she struggles to break up. That's where most of it is too, the neck. Do you think the difficulty breaking up adhesions near my neck prevent me from fully releasing the tension in the rest of my back and shoulders? It's kind of frustrating. Every time I get a massage it feels sooooo good (and I always tell them to apply more and more pressure, never less), but I don't really feel any relief once it's over. I have wondered if it's normal to actually have a deep tissue massage relieve pain, if only for a few hours or so. It feels amazing while it's happening but sometimes I feel like I'm wasting money. Also, just curious, have you ever heard of dry needling or anything of the sort? I saw a couple videos of this and it looks awesome for relief, but it doesn't seem to be a very mainstream treatment. I've gotten MUCH stronger over the last few months because of P90X, but my neck/back/shoulders feel just as tight as they've ever been. I think you've mentioned rolfing before, do you think that's a good option (considering it's a specialty $$ kinda thing?) Thank you so much.
If you decide to take the pharmaceutical route, I've been on maintenance doses of anti-inflammatories for years. With the occasional muscle relaxer for flare ups. Be sure to eat before taking them to protect your stomach lining. Otherwise, take Prilosec.
Determing what condition your muscles are in can be sort of tricky. Some sources say weak muscle are always tight (due to not being used/worked out), while others will say weak muscle will always be loose (from being pulled by their stronger counterpart). Another view may say tight muscles are tight from oversue and therefore stronger. From what i understand, it's not that clear cut. I'll use you bicep as an example: This is it's full range of motion, the dumbbell weight is the load it's being exposed to: If it's 1. Weak and tight - little or no load.....kept at a shorter or it's shortest position. Basically fig. 3, but with no weight. 2. Weak and long- - little or no load .... kept at a longer or at it's longest position. Basically fig. 2, but with no weight. 3. Strong and tight significant load... kept at a shorter or shortest position. 4. Strong and long- significant load...kept at a longer position. For this last combo, "longest" position probably wouldn't apply because a muscle will usually not stretch out completely, if it's under a significant load. Instead it'll contract as a protective reflex to avoid damage or tears that can be caused by overstretching with such a load. Generally you'll get strong and longer muscles (#4)from a good workout regimen that uses full range of motion, which is why this type of combination usually won't result in problems like knots. It's pretty much a muscle's prime condition to be in. I would say 2 and 3 are the most common when dealing with significant imbalances, since they are opposites. Of course we don't walk around with dumbbells, but a "real life" example can be a mother who's constantly carrying her baby for weeks, months, etc. Her bicep will constantly be contracted in a short position carrying the weight of the baby (#3). The opposing muscle, tricep, would be stretched and under no load (#2). As for #1, I think a really sedentary person would be the ideal candidate for this. Their body will always be in a tight position from sitting or laying around and it's never under an outside load, just resting. Muscle groups aren't always imbalanced, just weak and tight all around. Like i mentioned before, the relief is probably temporary because it unlocks the muscle while your layed out, but once you start moving they lock up again. This is likely when there is some misaligment, which needs appropriate manipulation. It's like the chain on a bicycle wheel that keeps coming off because the wheel is mis-aligned. You can stop and fix it, but once you start moving again the misalignment will throw it off again. Im not familiar with who is specifically available in this area, but you want to look for someone who specializes in myo release and can also do join manipulations. Could be a massage therapist with some special training or a chiro who's uses myo release. A rolfer should cover both, but again, i'm not sure of who's out there. Best i can do is point you here: http://www.rolf.org/find Check to see who's got the most education, certifications, etc. Ask what their treatments include, etc. Not familiar with it, but it could be related to this: Some therapists use these points to fire muscles that are inactive. To put it briefly, there's some kind of connection between the point and the muscle, so pressing the area activates the corresponding muscle. This specific technique is definitely legit, as i've done it myself. You can test it out if you want, just press on the area and you'll feel the muscle contract. Just try it out though, leave the massage to a professional. It works backwards as well. For example, if you contract your neck flexors, you'll feel some pressure at the massage point indicated here (back of neck). You might be better off finding a therapist who uses these points to rehab inactive muscles, rather than doing the needles. Ideally, you're better off finding some kind of physical therapist/personal trainer and massage therapist/rolfer mix or the closest thing to it....they should be able to put together the most complete plan for you, otherwise you may be missing something.
