Muscle knots in upper back?? Please read and answer!?

Question

Bare with me here...So I've had some serious muscle knots in my back for probably a year now (likely more). I've had a deep tissue massage and it helped but not nearly enough. A few days later I was back to the knots. I wouldn't say i'm in pain, per say, from these knots. It just gets really uncomfortable sitting in a chair or standing or laying on my back. It's like I constantly feel tension in my back and I can never fully relax my muscles back there. I'm most comfortable when I go to bed and sleep on my stomach. I've had my mom use her elbow to massage my back and she can feel the rivets and bumps everywhere (especially right inside my shoulder blades). Basically, this problem has become really annoying.

I've been to my general doctor twice about this. The first time, he prescribed me muscle relaxers, which did nothing other than put me to sleep. Six months later I visited him again (this past friday) and he's referring me to a neurologist. I'm thinking maybe this will give me more answers. However, I've been doing research, and it seems like with these knots, the muscles, nerves, AND possibly a misaligned bone in the spine could be involved. So that brings me to wonder if i'll also need to see a chiropractor?? I won't see the neurologist for a few weeks most likely, so I'm just really curious and want to find out as much as I can now. Because these muscle knots are REALLY annoying.

To give a little more information about me...I think there are three things that could have caused, or be affecting, my back problems
   1. I'm overweight
   2. I have (and have always had) very heavy breasts. which i think could pull on the muscles in my neck and upper back
   3. I was a weightlifter in high school - this i think is the biggest thing. I power lifted in school..we did the squat, bench, and deadlift. Squat was my best event and I'd frequently have weights in the 300 lb. range on my shoulders when practicing and competing. And on a few occasions, I lifted 420 lbs. While i never had an injury or severe pain in my back after lifting those weights, I'm wondering if this could have caused any problems that are coming back to bite me in the butt now. 

So there are my concerns. I am seeing doctors for this but I just want to see if I can get any feedback from those of you who may have had experience with this or know about the causes and treatments for severe muscle knots and discomfort. Any information would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Anonym · Accepted Answer

As a second year chiropractic student I would definitely recommend seeing a chiropractor. As with any medical professionals I would suggest doing some research on your local chiropractors to see which would suite you best based on your needs as some chiropractors do specialize in one area over another. 
Although you may not have sustained any acute trauma back in high school, it certainly could have had an impact on your spine due to the heavy weights possibly poor posture doing the squats etc. Your bust line and current weight may also have an impact on your muscles and posture.
Seeing a massage therapist is definitely a great idea however I can see why the results have only been temporary. Using only soft tissue modalities may not be addressing the underlying issue which you may have such as a restriction in your spine. Because you have sustained trauma throughout all these years even through simple activities of daily living, a chiropractor would definitely be able to help in taking a detailed history and assessing your spine and extremities for anything from trigger points, to taut bands, to restrictions, inter segmental dysfunction and/or  hyper mobility which some chiropractors still like to call a "misaligned bone in the spine" although I prefer not to use that term as it is rather dated and using the former terms is the more scientifically appropriate. Basically every joint in your body is made to move a certain way and due to everyday stresses and trauma we become hyper mobile in some areas and when one area of our body is injured other areas nearby tend to overcompensate. Chiropractors specialize in localizing such areas in the body and using various modalities to restore the normal function. You had mentioned how the muscle relaxers had barely worked which doesn't surprise me because the drugs simply do not target the underlying problem but work to temporarily relieve discomfort and mask the issue. I am not undermining the recommendation and prescription from the medical doctor I just don't believe it's the best possible way to take care of your issue. 
The chiropractor will make sure to work on all the "rivets" and "bumps." Hope this helps! After a thorough examination if your chiropractor feels the need to he will also be able to refer you to a neurologist if that is necessary of course. I will include some links to some helpful research on the effectiveness of chiropractic. Hope this is helpful!

Muscle knots in upper back?? Please read and answer!?

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