Myofascial trigger points, commonly referred to as muscle knots, are a frequent cause of pain and discomfort for many people. These specific areas of muscle tension can vary in severity, impacting our daily lives and overall health.
Despite their common occurrence, the exact nature and origins of muscle knots are still under investigation and discussion within the medical field. This article aims to clarify the definition of muscle knots, delve into the different factors that contribute to their development, and examine why they are so prevalent in the human body. Having a better understanding of these aspects can assist in effectively managing and preventing these troublesome muscular problems.
For a better understanding, it is necessary to begin by explaining how the anatomy of the muscle is structured.
There are three types of muscles in your body; Skeletal muscle, Cardiac muscle, Smooth muscle. In this article we’ll be talking about our skeletal muscles.
Each muscle can contain thousands of fibers. Different types of sheaths, or coverings, surround the fibers:
Epimysium: The outermost layer of tissue surrounding the entire muscle.
Perimysium: The middle layer surrounding bundles of muscle fibers.
Endomysium: The innermost layer surrounding individual muscle fibers.

An individual muscle fiber is made up of blocks of proteins called myofibrils, which contain a specialized protein (myoglobin) and molecules to provide the oxygen and energy required for muscle contraction.
The brain, nerves and skeletal muscles work together to cause these contractions.
A typical muscle is serviced by anywhere between 50 and 200 (or more) branches of specialized nerve cells called motor neurons.

How does this work?
The brain sends a message to the motor neurons.
This triggers the release of the chemical acetylcholine from the presynaptic terminals.
The muscle responds to acetylcholine by contracting.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that acts as a chemical message that is released by neurons and allows them to communicate with specialized cells such as myocytes and cells found in glandular tissues.
When a muscle stays in a contracted state, the sarcomere (the pump for those muscle fibers) gets overused and stops bringing new oxygen and blood, and instead builds up on lactic acid.

The lactic acid makes the environment more acidic, so the muscles do not contract as well. The lactates result in a burning sensation in the muscles, which is a signal to stop. Lactate levels right after exercise, however, are not related to the muscle soreness that people feel in the coming days.
This also makes the surrounding muscle fiber getting tight because they’re constantly getting being pulled by the central, all of this can lead to an increased nerve system receptor activity which means more pain. When you get multiple of those fibers that stick together that's called “trigger Point”.
Trigger points can refer the pain to another body location when you press them, this is called “referral pain” this is the main reason why a massage therapist most need to work in a full area and group of muscles release knots and not just locally.

How to treat “Knots” or “ Trigger Points”
In my experience as massage therapist, there’s several ways to do a trigger point release. The method I used with my clients will depend on their pain tolerance. If the client has a good pain tolerance there is a technique called “Trigger point therapy”. This method consists in finding the belly of the trigger point and applying good pressure till the knot breaks.
For my clients that are more sensitive, I use cupping therapy on the area to stimulate the blood flow and increase the heat. This will help to break the knot easier before applying some pressure.
For more question and information you can alway send and email to info@bnaturamassage.com
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