Everyone has tight muscles sometimes, and some people have them all the time. While tightness is certainly uncomfortable and a request for attention, it is not a useful adjective for diagnosis, because this feeling has several causes. Treatment for one type of muscle tension can make another worse. Learn six types of tension so you can respond to your muscle complaints more effectively.
# 1 Short and overused
After a long walk or an intense workout, the leg muscles may feel tight and sore from being overused. The muscles are contracted and may benefit from gentle stretching, especially when they are hot from activity.
# 2 Long and overused, but weak
Unbalanced posture creates unbalanced muscles. Some muscles will be short and contracted. Others will need a counterweight, which creates a stiffness that feels like tightness. The computer posture is a great example. The muscles in the front of the chest are short and overused. The upper back and shoulders are overstretched and working in a compromised and weakened position. Isometric exercises, such as squeezing the shoulder blades together and down to shorten and strengthen the muscles of the upper back, are effective.
# 3 underused and weak
If a muscle is not used, it will atrophy and the surrounding connective tissue and fascia will become dense. In computer posture, various muscles of the arm fall into this category. Gradually increase strength through exercise to rebuild muscle health and the feeling of flexibility in the fascia. Exercises that use many muscles at once, such as push-ups or light-weight bench presses, work better than machines that target individual muscles.
# 4 Tense
Muscles that are overused to the point of tension tense up to protect themselves. That can come from exercising too much, gardening, or helping a friend get around. The first step in healing is to rest. Ice, heat, or a combination can also help. Then gradually introduce exercise and stretching. It is important to go back in your usual routine and increase slowly to avoid extra effort.
# 5 trigger points
Stress can create trigger points as well as structural imbalance, poor posture, and cold. These knots are often described as tension. The best treatment is to warm up the muscle, press or massage the tender points, and then stretch.
# 6 scar tissue
Muscles and connective tissue that have been damaged, either from a sudden injury or from ongoing misaligned microtrauma, repair themselves with rigid and inflexible scar tissue. Manual therapy, such as deep tissue and inter-fiber friction massage, is an effective treatment. Gentle stretching sometimes helps, but over-stretching creates micro-tears in the connective tissue and even more scar tissue.
Manual therapists and exercise professionals must diagnose the source of stiffness in order to properly address it. For example, lengthening or stretching a long, overused muscle makes it even stiffer. For the client, becoming aware of the underlying feeling is an important tool for self-care, injury prevention, and personal growth.