You’ve probably had muscle knots before, even if you didn’t know what they were called. They usually occur in the neck, shoulder, and back and they feel like little balls underneath the skin where you experience stiffness and soreness.

Muscle knots are also called myofascial trigger points and they occur when a muscle is damaged and bands of muscle and the fascial layer above become inflamed. A clump of that inflamed tissue is a muscle knot.

They are caused by intense exercise or if you do a new, repetitive movement in your workout or at your job. And they can also occur in your neck and shoulders if you work at a computer all day and hold your head a certain way. You might even get knots in your legs if you run for the first time in a while. Basically, muscle knots pop up when your muscles are asked to do new work that they’re not used to performing.

If you do get muscle knots, there are several things you can do. The easiest solution is to just wait for them to go away, which usually takes a week or two.

You can also get a massage or try dry needling to get rid of your muscle knots. Some people even use electronic stimulation in affected areas. All three of these will increase blood flow to the knots and will enhance recovery.

You can also do your best to alleviate muscle knots at home by stretching your neck and rolling your shoulders. Another method is what is called self-myofascial release, which is when you use an object such as a foam roller, a baseball, or even a piece of PVC pipe and you can roll the troubled area back and forth over them to massage out the knots.

Muscle knots are annoying and uncomfortable, but they are nothing to worry about and now you know how to deal with them when they do pop up!