What Are "Knots"?

What even are these "knots" I always hear about from massage therapists?
Taken from the NASM textbook as follow:
     "Pattern Overload. Muscular imbalances are highly prevalent in today's society and  are often caused by pattern overload. Pattern overload is consistently repeating the same pattern of motion, such as baseball pitching, long-distance running, cycling, which with time places abnormal stresses on the body."

"Poor posture and repetitive movements create dysfunction within the connective tissue of the body. This dysfunction is treated by the body as an injury, and consequently, the body will initiate a repair process termed the cumulative injury cycle. 

Any trauma to the tissue of the body creative inflammation. Inflammation activates the body's pain receptors an initiates a protective mechanism, increasing muscle tension or causing muscle spasms.

As a result of the spasm, adhesions (or knots) begin to form in the soft tissue. These adhesions, left untreated, can begin to  form permanent structural changes in the soft tissue. "

There you have it folks. Next article I'll discuss some ways to combat pattern overload due to repetition of motion, which in turn causes knots. 

Thanks for reading, let me know if you want to see more articles like this.

​Alex S.