Many people seek help from acupuncture to help soothe areas of tension and to prepare their bodies for exercise. Both acupuncture and dry needling can also help manage and release pain that may have built up over time. But does acupuncture get rid of knots, or is the fix temporary?
Regular acupuncture can help to release knots and promote healthy blood and oxygen flow. The time it takes for knots to release fully may depend on their cause, your physical condition, and how regularly you seek treatment.
What are knots in the body?
Knots aren’t physical knottings inside the body; rather, they’re portions of contracted tissue. Acupuncturists refer to these areas as ‘trigger points’, also known as myofascial. Knots can be painful and tight and may cause further bodily problems if left without treatment.
Many common ailments and aches result from muscle knotting or contraction. For example, you may find you suffer from lower back pain or tension in your neck thanks to untreated knots. Left without any kind of diagnosis or care, knots can restrict your range of movement and lead to chronic pain conditions over time.
You’ll normally develop knots if you overexert your muscles, if you suffer from stress, or if you’re yet to recover from an injury. You may even develop trigger points if you drink a lot of caffeine or if you have poor posture.
While a healthier lifestyle is conducive to removing knots long term, acupuncture can help to speed up the process – and stave off further pain and inflexibility.
How acupuncture can help treat knots
Modern acupuncture revolves around targeting trigger points, or knots, to better circulate blood and oxygen across your body’s nervous network. Contracted muscles and tissue benefit from improved circulation and start to relax.
Acupuncture needles can actually provoke muscles into contracting in an attempt to soften them and relax. Releasing this tension after contracting can help targeted muscles regain suppleness and flexibility and improve circulation.
Regular acupuncture can also help lower inflammation, a major cause of tightness, soreness, and inflexibility. An acupuncturist aims not just to reduce a patient’s pain, but also to restore flexibility and movement potential.
Will one acupuncture session release my knots for good?
Your first acupuncture session will likely restore some flexibility and may reduce pain, but it’s important to attend regular clinics with your specialist. Targeted acupuncture isn’t a quick fix, and while you may experience up to 50% improvement after your first visit, keeping up to a recommended schedule is ideal for preventing knot reoccurrence.
For example, acupuncture can help to treat long-term conditions such as sciatica, triggered by knots in the lower back. Unfortunately, sciatica isn’t a condition that’s easy to diagnose or treat from just one session alone. For the best long-term results, it’s vital to continue meeting with an acupuncture specialist and your regular physician.
Stimulation of trigger points will help to ‘unlock’ contracted and restricted muscles, meaning a single acupuncture session can provide flexibility for a short time. It’s crucial to balance regular acupuncture with a change of lifestyle to avoid redeveloping the same knots and trigger points again and again.
How else can I avoid developing knots?
Depending on your precise diagnosis, you may need to adapt a few physical lifestyle changes – such as exercising more or even less – to prevent knots from recurring. The action you need to take depends entirely on your unique situation.
For example, if you develop knots through over-exertion, a physician and acupuncturist may advise you to attend regular needling sessions and refocus your training or work elsewhere while you heal. Acupuncture is immensely useful as part of a sports therapy program, whereby you can prepare your body for future exertion, not just rehabilitate it from injury.
You may need to practice a few physio exercises between acupuncture sessions to prevent knots from recurring. Prevention of knotting between sessions may also revolve around changing your posture, wearing different shoes, or changing your medication in line with physician recommendations.
A qualified acupuncturist will request you undertake a strength assessment before any treatments occur. This assessment will show your specialist your body’s current limitations, where knots are developing, and what action is necessary. Your specialist will then create a plan of action with you to both reduce pain and prevent knots from arising again in future.
Can acupuncture treat conditions that cause knots?
Acupuncture provably lessens general aches, pains, straining, stiffness and restores flexibility without conditions necessarily attached. The practice can also help the body react to underlying causes of trigger points and body knots, not excluded to the following:
- Sciatica
- Sports injuries (such as tennis elbow)
- Headaches
- Arthritis and osteoarthritis
- Menstrual cramping
- Carpal tunnel
- Nausea
Stress, too, can cause the body to develop knots. Regular acupuncture can be extremely relaxing, helping patients psychologically as well as physically.
Areas of the body in pain that are not necessarily trigger points can also benefit from regular acupuncture. For example, acupuncture is frequently prescribed to help relieve pain after dental surgery and can even help to lessen pain and discomfort experienced through migraines and fibromyalgia.
Beyond knots and pain points, acupuncture can also help reduce addictive behavioral cycles and asthma sensitivity and help people readjust and rehabilitate after strokes.
Will acupuncture remove my knots completely?
Providing you regularly attend acupuncture with a qualified and experienced specialist, you can expect to regain flexibility and reduce pain significantly. Coupled with lifestyle changes suggested by medical experts, you have an even greater chance of removing knots from your body for good!
Lycoming Orthopedic & Sports Acupuncture provides fully regulated, expert treatment for a wide range of common debilitating conditions. Whether you’re experiencing tightness and knotting from stress, if arthritis is holding you back from an active lifestyle, or if you’re struggling to stay supple for sport, regular acupuncture can make an enormous difference.
Call our clinic now to learn more about how we can help to restore flexibility and reduce pain – so you can get back to doing what you love. If you’d prefer, fill out our online form, and we’ll call you as soon as possible.
