by Julie Zuleger
Various muscle knots can cause pain in the back, side, or front of the knee. Hamstring muscles, located in the back of the thigh, are responsible for extending the hip and bending or flexing the knee. Muscle knots in these muscles can cause pain in the back of the knee, as well as in the back of the thigh, the glutes, and the lower leg. Pain in the side of the knee is typically attributed to the IT Band. The IT Band is a thick band of connective tissue that runs along the outside of the leg from the hip to the outside of the knee. Muscle knots in the outside quadriceps muscle will cause outside knee pain.
Common muscle knots surrounding the knee, which consist of tight and contracted muscles, are indicated below by a black dot. The red area in the illustrations indicates “referred pain” – meaning, the pain you feel is often not in the location of your trigger point until you press on it. As an example, you may feel pain in the back of the knee, but the trigger point may actually be in the hamstring and calf muscles. For a comprehensive look at more than 260 different pain map illustrations throughout the body, you may want to purchase the Tiger Tail Self-Help Guide to HAPPY MUSCLES.
Knots in the Vastus Lateralis muscle, part of the hamstring group, can cause pain in the back of the knee.
Common Conditions Relating to Knee Pain:
- Runner’s Knee
- Knee locks
- Deep knee pain
- Buckling of the knee
- Pain going up and down stairs
- Stuck knee cap
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Pain in the front of the knee may be attributed to muscle knots in the Adductor Brevis and Adductor Longus, located in the inner thigh.
TIPS FOR HAPPIER MUSCLES:
- Locate the muscle knot by applying pressure to the area causing pain. A muscle knot can be actively painful, or you might not even know it exists until you put pressure on it.
- Rub the muscle knot to allow blood and oxygen to circulate freely to that muscle area.
- Find the right pressure. When you press on a muscle knot with just the “right amount of pressure”, it can make you laugh and cry at the same time because it can “hurt so good”. Pressing too hard, however, it can make you cry for mercy!
- If you gently rub the muscle knot you may feel tenderness in both the muscle and the muscle knot. Sometimes, the referred pain symptoms are able to be reproduced when pressure is applied to the muscle knot.
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About the Author: Dr. Julie Zuleger
Dr. Julie Zuleger has over 20 years of experience as a Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Strength, and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), Corrective Exercise Specialist, RYT-500 Yoga Instructor, and Human Movement Specialist. Julie promotes self-care using massage tools and stretching-based programs and teaches continuing education courses for yoga teachers, massage therapists, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning, fitness, and wellness professionals. Julie holds a PhD in Education and is the Director of Kinesiology and Education at Tiger Tail USA.