And that clump of inflamed tissue is a myofascial trigger point. When your muscle gets damaged – even just a little – it can cause inflammation in the bands of muscle and the fascial layer above. What are they, and how can you get rid of them when they happen? Some of the most common questions I’ve heard during my years as a personal trainer and researcher in this field involve muscle knots. Figuring out programs to maximize performance, regardless of training goal, goes beyond what to do during the workout – it’s also about how best to prepare for and recover from the stress exercise places on the body. The goal of much of my research is to understand how different movements and forms of exercise place stress on the muscles. So what was going on with that muscle knot? It’s probably something you’d like to avoid or minimize in the future, if possible, though. Over the course of the next few days, your back slowly loosens up, and eventually, your shoulder returns to feeling normal. Every time you try to move it around, the area feels tight, with slight pangs of pain. When you rub your shoulder muscles, it feels like you’re prodding a little gumball under your skin. The next morning, you wake up and realize the back of your shoulder blade feels stiff. Your muscles feel a bit tired, but all in all, you’re able to go about the rest of your day just fine. Imagine you’ve just completed a tough upper-body workout.