Muscle Knot Question

Have boyfriend press his thumb into the knot. It'll be painful, but it'll be a weird ticklish pain that you can grit your teeth through after the first shock.

Pressing directly on the knot gets it to loosen.

You can try ice - that always gives me 3-4 hours of pain free mobility.

Stretching takes a few days to a week.

But pressing right on the sucker - takes the knot pain from a 10 to a 3 in a matter of minutes. Just grin and bear the initial shock of pain and you'll see what I'm talking about.

You can even try it yourself if you can reach...

Yes to what dad said. When the thumb is pressing down on it, move it in a circular motion at the same time. This is exactly what a masseuse will do. Hurts so ... good. You may also want to invest in a good handheld massager. I have one from Brookstone and the handle is long enough that it's perfect for the back. You can really drill down on those knots.

Put a tennis ball (or something similar that won’t break or hurt you) on the floor and lay on top of it, then move around in the knotted area. This should help to work it out. Also try ice for 15 minutes and then heat for 15 minutes, alternate for about an hour or less.

Your bf can use his elbow and/or thumbs to help get the knot out. You may have to reposition your arms so he can get under the shoulder blade. I have had problems with knotted muscles in the same area for years.

Last time that happened to me, it went on for days, and I finally ended up in the emergency room (this, after having gone to the chiropractor twice that week, then the massage therapist, then trying heat, ice, and anti-inflammatories, and finally when I was rolled up on the floor crying, my husband picked me up and hauled me to the ER). They prescribed Valium (which is a muscle relaxer) and 800mg Ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory), as well as ice on for 20 minutes, off for 20 minutes. Even so, it took a good week for the knot to totally go away!

Anyway, call the doctor. If you have a horrible knot, get medical help. Muscle relaxers are the way to go in this instance, and stay away from heating the muscle (that will cause inflammation, which makes it worse) - use ice instead.

Good luck!

I have muscle spasm problems in my one shoulder which typically includes nerve entrapment all the way down my arm. I have found short term large doses of magnesium help to alleviate the pain sooner than without.

Although I must caution you that magnesium can cause some people to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. Fortunately my colon must be made of steel ;-)

After being adjusted 4 times and still have muscle tension between chest,back shoudlers mid/lower back he gave me some homopathic pills to ease the muscle spasms,stress,tension i'll give it a shot I need it nothing is helping doing strretches as he ordered me to do laying on my back for sleep and getting adjusted i'm still in pain,oh ya I did lab work to and thats all normal it's my aching muscles,i'm also doing bio freeze and electric stem.I need a massage too but I need to go this route to ease the pain before I get massages plus i'll be seeing myPT soon for massages for something else so I think she'll be able to help me with my lower back