Knots in back and shoulders....

I've recently been noticing an increase in the tightness and knotting of my back muscles, like the ones right behind and over my shoulder blades.

I'm a retired college swimmer and I feel that even in the peak of my season I didn't have as much trouble with these knots as I do now.

I haven't had access to the free weights section in a gym for a while, so I've tried to use resistance cords and my own body weight to try and simulate the exercises I used to do. Is this the reason I've had more knots? And why would this be?

And most importantly, how do I get rid of them?

Foam rolling is a great way to work out the knots.

I'm not sure why you would be getting them, unless you've just started back after taking  break. 

Original Post by pegamoose:

And most importantly, how do I get rid of them?

Regular massages.

Haha. Maybe I should have added that I am currently single, with no access to a willing masseur.

I'm wondering if there are exercises or stretches that can help get rid of them? I can feel the tightness when I'm standing or sitting, but I can't reach most of them by myself.

There is a stretch that I found on a "reduce stress yoga tape" and I'll try to describe it... it's the best thing I've found for relieving the tightness in the muscles on and under the shoulder blades. 

Bend your arms in front of you- hands pointing up, elbows bent

Put one elbow on top of the other and twist forearms around each other so palms are together

Clasp hands

Then push down with the top elbow (pushing from the shoulder) while pushing up and toward your face with the bottom elbow.

Switch arms.

Hope that's descriptive enough.

You could try lying on the floor, face up, and rolling a tennis ball between your shoulder blades.

I'm a competitive swimmer as well.  I can't really tell from your description, but I know I have tendinitis in my shoulders from swimming.  My physical therapist thinks it was caused by swimming.  

Also, are your shoulders extremely flexible?  you may have hyper-extendable shoulders, which (from my not so great understanding) means your shoulder is kind of like "loose" in the socket.  So, your supposed to do physical therapy to strengthen your shoulders so they can support the greater mobility.  Some examples of the exercises would be:  arm rows, weights on a ball, cable rows, lots of stretching.  It might be a good idea to see a physical therapist if you can.  

Original Post by karozel:

Foam rolling is a great way to work out the knots.

This.

Do you have health insurance? I too have knots in my shoulder and back. I have delt with it for almost 2 years and finally talked to my doctor about them.

It was a big mistake to let the issue go because now I've got burning/cold tingling sensations in the shoulder, actually the pain burning, tingling etc has been going on for almost a year.

My doctor up me on pain pills, muscle relaxers etc., but they did not take care of the pain, just masked it for a while. I stayed on him and he sent me to physical therapy. I've been taking therapy for a month but it has not helped much. The therapist says I have a rib out but has not been able to get it back in place. That is not my major issue but is attributing to it. I have now been referred to an orthopedic surgeon and have my first appointment today at 3.

So I'm saying don't let the pain go on too long, do something about it early and you may be able to get it under control before it gets worse and to the point of serious problems, and serious medical bills due to added tests.

I'm a big fan of the Ther-A-Cane.  Yes, it is every bit as evil as it looks, and it works.

Wow, ther-a-cane does look like an instrument of torture. It's also ~$40!  I'

I'll stick with my $10 foam-roller though.  A hard rubber ball (or even a tennis ball) also works well for neck and shoulders. 

There's no reason to pay $40.  I got mine for less than that on Amazon.

Oh, okay.   I just looked at the link you provided.