Why do I feel my muscles tight when they are actually weak?
- Lukas Vojnar
- Aug 12, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 26
Understanding the Relationship Between Muscle Weakness, Tightness, and Limited Range of Motion
One thing I find myself repeating often in the clinic is answering the question of why a weak muscle feels tight. I will try to explain why limited Active Range of motion (AROM) might be linked to muscle weakness and how this can lead to muscle tightness.
Limited AROM and Muscle Weakness
Muscle Weakness: When a muscle is weak, it may not be able to generate enough force to move a joint through its full range of motion. This can result in limited AROM because the muscles responsible for moving the joint aren’t strong enough to achieve the full range.
Simply : If a muscle is weak, the body knows and it can’t stabilise the joint effectively. To prevent injury, the nervous system might limit how much the joint can move.
How Muscle Weakness Leads to Tightness
Now, you might be wondering why weak muscles tend to be tight. Shouldn’t they be loose if they’re not strong? Here’s the deal:
Compensatory Tightness: When primary muscles are weak, other muscles often step in to stabilise the joint. These compensating muscles can become overactive, leading to tightness. It’s a classic case of your body trying to maintain balance and stability, but in doing so, it limits your movement even more.
Shortened Muscle Length: Weak muscles don’t get used as much as they should. Over time, this can lead to adaptive shortening, where the muscle stays in a contracted state and doesn’t stretch to its full length regularly. This shortened state contributes to that tight, restricted feeling.
Neuromuscular Response: The body's nervous system might increase muscle tone (tightness) in response to weakness. It's trying to compensate for the lack of strength, but this increased tone further restricts movement.
The Role of Pain in Muscle Tightness
Pain is just another piece of puzzle. If a weak muscle causes pain during the movement, the body often react by tightening the muscles around the joint. This muscle guarding is a protective response, but it creates a cycle of pain, tightness, and limited movement. The less the muscle is used due to pain or weakness, the stiffer it becomes, which only reinforces the problem.
The importance of Joint Stability
It's also important to consider joint stability when discussing a limited AROM. Weak muscles, especially those responsible for stabilising a joint, can lead to instability. To compensate this, the body might tighten surrounding muscles to protect the joint. This tightness, while protective, further restricts the movement.
Simply: In the shoulder, if the rotator cuff muscles are weak, the larger deltoid muscle might become overactive and become tight to stabilise the joint. It is very common in this case to see the difficulty to perform overhead movement.
Now, how does Bondi Sports Massage play a role in this?
Breaking the Cycle with ART, Cupping, Sports Massage, Remedial Massage and Dry Needling
Techniques like Active Release Technique (ART), cupping, sports massage, remedial massage and dry needling can be incredibly effective in improving mobility and breaking the cycle of pain and tightness.
Active Release Technique (ART)
ART is a soft tissue therapy designed to break up adhesions and scar tissue in the muscles, tendons, and fascia. It works by applying pressure to the affected area while the client actively moves the muscle through its full range of motion. This combination helps to:
Release Adhesions: Adhesions can limit muscle length and contribute to tightness. ART helps to break these down, allowing the muscle to stretch fully and restoring normal movement.
Improve Muscle Function: By freeing up the muscles, ART can reduce compensatory tightness, allowing the weak muscle to function more effectively.
Reduce Pain: ART can alleviate pain by addressing the root cause of tightness and weakness, leading to improved AROM.
Cupping with Movement (Myofascial Decompression)
Cupping is a form of myofascial decompression that uses suction cups to lift the skin and fascia away from the underlying muscles. When combined with movement, cupping can:
Enhance Tissue Mobility: The lifting action of cupping helps to release fascial restrictions, allowing the muscles and joints to move more freely.
Reduce Muscle Tightness: By decompressing the tissue, cupping can alleviate the tightness that’s limiting AROM, especially in muscles compensating for weakness.
Improve Blood Flow: Increased blood flow to the area aids in healing and reduces pain, which can further improve mobility.
Sports Massage
Sports massage targets the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, using specific techniques to address muscle tightness, pain, and dysfunction. This type of massage can:
Break Down Scar Tissue: Sports massage can help reduce the buildup of scar tissue that restricts movement.
Increase Flexibility: By working on tight, overactive muscles, sports massage helps to lengthen the muscle and improve flexibility, thus enhancing AROM.
Promote Relaxation: Relaxing tight muscles through massage reduces the body’s protective response, making it easier to strengthen weak areas without the interference of compensatory tightness.
Dry needling
Dry needling involves inserting thin needles into trigger points within the muscle. These are areas of tightness or knots that can cause pain and restrict movement. Dry needling can:
Release Muscle Tension: By targeting trigger points, dry needling can relax tight muscles and restore their normal length.
Enhance Muscle Activation: After releasing the tension, the muscle can contract more effectively, helping to address the underlying weakness.
Reduce Pain: Like the other techniques, dry needling helps break the cycle of pain, tightness, and limited mobility by directly addressing the muscle dysfunction.
Conclusion
Using techniques like ART, cupping, sports massage, remedial massage, and dry needling in combination with strengthening exercises can significantly improve AROM by addressing both the tightness and weakness. These methods work together to break down adhesions, release tight muscles, and improve joint stability, ultimately helping your clients move more freely and without pain.
By incorporating these treatments into your practice, you’re not just addressing the symptoms but getting to the root of the problem. This comprehensive approach leads to longer-lasting results, better client outcomes, and a stronger, more flexible body.
Visit us at Bondi Sports Massage, 122 Bronte Rd, Bondi Junction, NSW, 2026
Services offered:
Remedial Massage
Sports Massage
Dry Needling
Cupping
Assisted Stretching
Rehabilitation
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