Sometimes clients ask me, “what is that stubborn knot in there, anyway?” 

That knot you feel in your muscle is most likely an adhesion. That’s a place where it was strained or overused, and a tiny tear opened up in the muscle. Lactic acid, a waste product from muscle activity, made the surface of the muscle sticky. In combination with collagen that the body applied at the site of the micro injury to protect it, you developed a tough little band of tissue between the muscles that wasn’t there before. 

Is That Common?

Yes – almost universal. In my 18 years in practice, I can count on one hand those clients who haven’t had noticeable muscle adhesions. It’s a lot like having a scar on your skin – almost everyone has at least one somewhere.

Why Does it Happen?

Your body was in a hurry to protect the injured place, so it generated tough tissue quickly. Again, it’s like a scar on your skin. Priority was placed on closing the wound off quickly rather than covering it with the same kind of tissue it had before. That protected it from further damage and infection, but the scar tissue isn’t as pliable and functional as the skin that used to be there. Muscle adhesions can reduce your flexibility and your ability to move freely in that same way, and sometimes they’re downright painful. Ouch!

Can Massage Help?

Absolutely! One benefit I provide as a massage therapist is helping break up adhesions to restore your comfort and freedom of movement. By stimulating the site of the old injury, I’m reactivating the body’s healing response so that it can pick back up on the repair work it started when the injury was new. 

A muscle adhesion can also limit circulation, slowing down healing progress. Massage therapy increases circulation in the affected area, so that resources for rebuilding tissue can arrive more quickly, and waste products that cause pain can be disposed of more efficiently.

How Soon Will I Feel Better?

It can take a while for these repairs to progress, just like a cut or scrape on your skin takes time to heal completely. I can’t get rid of your adhesions in one session, but I can do a lot to reduce your pain and improve your movement the first time I work with you. As we continue to work together, I’ll help you maximize your body’s potential to circle back and heal old wounds. Let’s not allow the knots of the past to keep you tied up!