How do I get rid of a knot in my back?

Question

My back has been hurting for weeks, I think I have a huge knot in it. How do I get rid of the pain/knot?

Answer 1

First how do you think, you got your knot?
Is it chronic or new?
Relief of symptoms:
New symptom I would use ice intermittently & Ibuprofen to decrease swelling/pain. (first 24 hours)
Otherwise take a hot bath with epson salt.
I recommend doing some Yoga or
treat yourself to a massage.

Answer 2

Definately get a massage by someone who is licensed or registered (I'm a BC RMT, but I think the states have different licensing). Or, you could lay on a tennis ball, roll around until you find the knot and hold until you feel a release. This could take seconds or minutes. It may also require subsequent treatments, daily or every other day. Just don't make sure you hold with a tolerable amount of pressure. I am always amazed at how many people think that the deeper, the harder the pressure the mor effective it is, when in fact it is not. Remember to breath. Chiro's can adjust your spine and if the knot is due to a muscle spam because your spine is out, then chiro would be helpful. Actually massage and chiro work really well together.

Answer 3

I have a great solution for you, have someone else press really hard on the center of the knot for about 10 seconds, where you feel it hurt the most you should be able to tell where.

You should feel a release of tightness, it may hurt and feel good at the same time. if you dont get this sensation it is not the right spot. You can test it out. massage around the area after.

It can take days for the knot depeding on the severity. keep doing it everyday if the knot is still there. dont try too may times in one day this can cause the area tenderness if so wait till the next day.

if you got the right spot it should not hurt too long afterwards.

if it is a small knot it should go away within minutes. I am the olny one that I know who can do it right. It can be taught but it is hard to explain in text.

Answer 4

Get a tennis ball - if you don't have any, go to the pet department at your local department store and buy one - they're cheaper there than in the sporting goods dept. Stand next to a wall and place the tennis ball between the painful area and the wall. Lean against the tennis ball with as much pressure as you can stand for as long as you can stand (10 - 15 seconds). You may notice a difference right away, but I don't feel better until the next morning. This works great! Also, apply heat. This helps relax the muscles. If this doesn't work, you should see a massage therapist or chiropractor for help. Blessed be, Gypsy

Answer 5

Typically 90% of all back problems resolve within 1 month if not within 2 weeks. If you pain has been present for longer than a month you should seek the advice of your physician. Typically your primary care physician will evaluate you and if there is no major red flags then you will be referred to a physical therapist for a neuromusculoskeletal evaluation, which simply means an evaluation of your peripheral nervous system, affected muscles and associated joints. The aches and pains that most people are asking about in yahoo answers is exactly what most outpatient physical therapist treat every hour of every day.

I do recommend that if you are referred to a physical therapist by your physician that you do NOT go to a corporate owned franchise such as Novacare or HealthSouth as most of the therapists there have little or no control of their own schedules and you may not be able to see the same therapist from visit to visit, which I believe is poor healthcare delivery promoted by corporate interest.

I also do not recommend that you see a chiropractor or a massage therapist that works in a chiropractic office. If you want to know the truth behind chiropractic care and chiropractors, then check out the following links.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01quackeryrela...
http://www.chirobase.org/01general/chiro...
http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsid....
http://www.chirobase.org/01general/skept...
http://www.quackwatch.org/01quackeryrela...
http://www.chirobase.org/06dd/chirovet.h...

Also, chiropractors state that research has justified their techniques, check out the following;

During the past few years, two reports about the treatment of low-back pain have placed chiropractic in a favorable light. One, issued by the RAND Corporation, concluded that spinal manipulation was appropriate for some cases of low-back pain. The other, produced by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), judged manipulation useful for controlling symptoms while awaiting the spontaneous recovery that occurs within a month in most patients with low-back problems.
Although chiropractors have promoted these reports as endorsements of chiropractic, they are not. They merely support the use of manipulation in carefully selected patients. Only a few of the research studies on which their conclusions were based involved manipulation by chiropractors; most were done by medical doctors and physical therapists whose practices are not identical to those of chiropractors. Most chiropractors manipulate the vast majority of patients who walk through their door, some use techniques that have not been studied scientifically, and many urge all of their patients to undergo monthly or even weekly "preventive maintenance" visits throughout their life. In addition, many chiropractors emphasize a technique that is more vigorous (and therefore less safe) than the controlled manipulation used by other practitioners. The only places where "chiropractic" and "chiropractors" are mentioned in the body of the AHCPR report

Answer 6

i have knots too in different places,sometimes its in my shoulder blade some times in my back,if you can afford a massage therepist it will do you a world of good, my therapist told me its like spaghetti stuck together so when they work on you they smooth out the spaghetti. Its from not stretching enough and sitting around to long.

Answer 7

Go get a massage for at least 1hr and 30 minutes all over your body it will make you feel good and get rid of the knot.

Answer 8

It may be a spasm, go to the chiroporactor, they'll work it out for you.
You can also have someone massage in Biofreeze, that's helps relieve back pain, temporarily.

Answer 9

have someone give you a massage to work the knot out!
good luck!

Answer 10

those are a big pain. i would say go to a chiropractor they will do wonders to you but dont let just anyone sometimes when you have just anyone do it, they could end up making it worse. Try doing stretches, that can also help.