Deep Dive: Knee Pain
Massage can help knee pain? Short answer: YES! Blog complete. Haha, no I’m kidding. If you’re anything like me, you need to know how it can help!
So if you’ve followed me for awhile, you know that trigger points are knots in muscles that refer pain to other areas of the body. (Want to learn more? Check out my Intro to Trigger Point Therapy blog post!) So why wouldn’t that apply to the knees?! I think most of us get stuck in the thought that there are no muscles around or in the knee, but that doesn’t matter! Before we dive in, I want to mention that knee pain can often be diagnosed as arthritis, but you can still have relief from massage therapy! Check out this trigger point referral graph below:
On this chart, the x marks where the trigger point itself is, where I would press. The deeper the red, the stronger the referral. Look at the first image on the top left. That referral down into the knee is so intense!! I see this all the time. That particular trigger point is so sensitive and tender and also refers right down into the knee almost every time. You can see that the Rectus Femoris isn’t the only thing that refers to the knee. Most of the quad muscles refer into the knee, or around the knee.
So now that you know that trigger points do indeed refer to the knee…. and my job is to work with trigger points, we’re off to a great start.
Let’s dive deeper. What causes trigger points here in the quads? Trigger Points are most often caused by injury and overuse. With the quadratus muscles in particular, sitting for long periods of time keeps them shortened, walking in high heels and knee overload. Athlete’s and runners are prone to trigger points here because of overuse. The pain will probably feel like a deep ache under your knee cap, make your knee feel weak and stiff, you will have a harder time climbing stairs, have pain that wraps around the knee and may even cause knee buckling. Also, if you’re having front of leg numbness, that could be coming form this area as well. If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, we can help! I will use Trigger Point Therapy to massage all of the quadratus muscles slowly, releasing trigger points as we go. It may be tender, but I won’t go past what your threshold is and will only go as deep as your body allows and can handle. Once the referral goes down and the muscle releases, we have done our job! This may take a few sessions to release completely, depending on how long the pain has been around.
You can also foam roll your quads at home for relief between sessions, or see if this works without getting a massage. You can check out our YouTube foam rolling video that you can follow along with to get the best results! You can also use a Trigger Point Ball to get in smaller spaces and get a little deeper . You can also stretch your quads to get relief and help with the tension. If you’re an athlete, it is very important to stretch before and after your activities to ensure that your muscles aren’t staying in contraction and are able to go back into rest mode. And make sure you’re drinking enough water! You may be experiencing more pain than normal if you are dehydrated, as it is one of the most common causes of muscles stiffness.
So what if you have pain in your knee from an injury to the tendons or ligaments there? Can massage help that? Kind of. While I can’t get to the deep ligaments in your knee, we can work around the outside of the knee to bring more blood flow to the area. Increased blood flow will help bring healing to that area and decrease the healing time. Doing all of the above will also help, as your muscles are most likely tight from sustaining the injury as well!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! We would love to answer any questions you may have, or get you on the schedule to get in for a massage. Knee pain is not fun.
You can take some of this into your own hands at home! Of course for function, so much of it depends on how you are taking care of and loving your body and spirit. We also have an e-course with guided foam rolling techniques for general use and seven different areas of the body, how to use the Trigger Point Ball, and 10 spots we always use it for & 10 different stretches! It’s a great resource to return to again and again. Working on yourself at home can have a great affect on your body between appointments and keep you feeling great!
If you aren’t local to the UP, I recommend looking for a massage therapist that is experienced in Trigger Point Therapy, or neuromuscular massage.
xo, Nikki
