I get knots up and down my quads, mostly, it appears, at the junction of vastus lateralis and rectus femoris…I role them out, but they come back…anyone have any wisdom or similar experience?
Have you tried either massage therapy or some ART? Might be worth a few sessions to see if it will help. I always find it far too hard to roll out anything on my own legs.
I also need info on this bc it always bothers me after i run or bike for a long time. i hit it hard yesterday and i am sitting here now in super soreness. I stretch after i workout but still bothers me.
Have you tried either massage therapy or some ART? Might be worth a few sessions to see if it will help. I always find it far too hard to roll out anything on my own legs.
Budget limits my access to massages and the like, so no, I haven’t tried, but a regular massage certainly sounds like something I’d enjoy.
Well if ART is available near you I would highly suggest it. Its aim is to get rid of accumulated junk in your muscles (scar tissue etc…) that builds up over time. Sometimes massage therapy can help, but I have found it is temporary for me, whereas ART can be a little more permanent. Also if you are on any sort of medical plan, ART is often done by Chiropractors and as such is often covered. A portion is for me anyway.
Perhaps at the very least you could have someone else do a better job at rolling out your muscles for you. Chances are they could do it for a longer period of time then you could. I had some massage therapy on my quads and it was amazing how much pressure they had to put behind it to get deep into those big muscles. There is no way i could do that to myself.
I’ve had the same problem with knots for a long time. Although I’ve never been able to get rid of them completely, I’ve found a way to roll them out quicker.
A buddy of mine gave me a bottle of Absorbine Horse Linament Gel, and it works amazing. Beacuse the stuff is made for horse muscles, it’s really strong. After I foam roll the knot, I rub on some of the gel and the knot is usually gone by the next day. The gel increases the blood flow and circulation in the area to help heal the muscle.
You can pick up the stuff at most pet and feed stores, and is about $10 for a bottle that will last a long time. Just be sure to wash your hands after using the gel…
I use the Trigger Point Grid Roller and it works really well. I roll over my quads slowly until I find a knot, i.e. a spot that hurts like a mofo. Then I just put as much weight as I can stand on that knot until the pain subsides, generally around 30 seconds.
That is the strangest solution I have ever read. And I am just intrigued enough to try it…what happens if you don’t wash your hands afterwards? What is it made of?
I’ve used that before in HS baseball. My neck had knotted up and had a game that afternoon. While it didn’t totally kill it, it helped tremendously and allowed me to play. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if I had reoccuring issues.
Did you use the horse version or the ‘Jr’ version?
Because of the menthol, it can be a little uncomfortable if you rub your eyes or go to the bathroom before you wash your hands…
I was skeptical at first, tried it a few times and was amazed how well it helped.
http://www.absorbine.com/products/musclecare/absorbine-veterinary-liniment-gel
Ingredients include menthol 4%, SD alcohol 53%, calendula, echinacea and wormwood herbs.
Just sounds like mega-dose tiger balm. Whatever, I’m still gonna go out and get it.
I’ve also used the homeopathic Arnica on my legs with some success. It usually reduces inflammation enough that I get on the roller later and work everything out.
I have no idea. It was a tan bottle with a horse on it had a gel like consistency. Kinda reminded me of Flexall 454. My uncle just said here, but this on. I remember it feeling like it was poking my skin at first, then it just relaxed and got hot like any other muscle cream. I’ve never used it since then.
When I was a kid playing soccer, my dad always rubbed me down with horse liniment…wonder if it’s the same…? Maybe my ol’ man was right?
just keep up the rolling. Maybe get a firmer roller.
I had chronic muscle strains, groin, hamstring and calf, that plagued me for years. Everytime I’d push in training something would pull.
I used to pay for massage and physio, which was effective, but after looking into trigger point therapy and self massage, I have managed to roll away all my problems. Anytime I feel a knot or sore spot I roll it out. It is a constant requirement, as like you say, they are recurrent issue. I have just made it part of my routine.
I have a foam roller, Trigger Point products: a hollow cylinder and a Quadballer, and a ball. Sometimes the foam roller is too gentle to crack the problem, but the firmer rollers always work, after much wincing. Roll moring and night everyday and within a few days knots will be gone.
I haven’t stretched in over a year and have had no muscle strains in this time.
I now roll calves, hamstring, piriformis, adductors, quads, ITB, lower back, upper (when I get shoulder strains from swimming) and am yet to find a muscle pain I can’t eliminate
Just found this post and picked up a bottle of the gel, just put on my first dose, feels great. Hope it helps these knots work themselves out.
Between this and my PVC pipe and foam roller, I hope to be free of these knots and ITBS symptoms.
I have the quad roller and the grid, and they hurt. I’m generally not a pussy but I am when attempting to “roll”. One of my problems is the knots tend to be long, running along the muscle fibres, which makes it hard to roll. But I’m good today…small steps
One of my problems is the knots tend to be long, running along the muscle fibres, which makes it hard to roll.
thats right. What may feel like a strained muscle or a tear, is quite often a knot pulling on a band of fibres.
I always thought it strange that I could have pulled a groin muscle jogging, which is well within my normal range of motion, when in actual fact is was a tightenening of the knot.
Stretching will not get to the knot. It is great for lengthing muscles, if that is what you need, but terrible for knotted muscle. The rest of the muscles stretches out, but the suppleness has gone from the band of muscle affected by the knot. Attempting to stretch this could cause some tearing
suck it up soldier and punish that knot into submission!
As you probably know, it is only once that pain subsides, and you are rolling around looking for sore points, that the muscles is back to how it should be. Usually takes a couple of days of morning and night massage
This post is correct. Ive spent the last few months fighting knotted to hell muscles, stretching 2 or 3 times a day at times very religiously. Things havent really gotten better until I started rolling (with foam) and got even better then I got some hard PVC pipe and really took force to them.