How to Get Rid of Knots in the Scapula?

Having a knot between your shoulders can really make the simplest of things difficult, like sitting at a desk, driving a car, or even writing can cause discomfort.
These scapula knots can occur for a variety of reasons like sitting in one place for too long, stress, overuse of certain muscles and many others. They make you feel stiff, painful, and overall drained.
However, you can easily get rid of them with some effective techniques. In this blog, we’ll cover the top stretches and exercises that target knots in the scapula muscle.
But first, let’s see what these scapula knots actually are…
What is the Scapula Knot?
The scapula knot is a hard, painful spot that forms in the muscles of your shoulder. It happens when your muscles get stuck in a contracted state and are unable to relax.
Surrounding muscles near the scapula, such as your trapezius, rhomboids, and levator scapulae, are especially sensitive to these knots as they help with posture and upper body movement.
With scapula knots, you can also feel pain in your neck, upper back, and shoulders. These knots make your daily life activities very challenging.
Symptoms of Knots in Scapula Muscle
Once you develop a knot in your shoulder blades, it’s hard to ignore the discomfort. Here are some general symptoms of scapula muscle knots to keep in mind.
- Severe Pain in the shoulder blade area
- Muscle contractions and stiffness in the back and shoulders
- Difficulty moving your arms or shoulders
- Increased sensitivity at some points
- Pain traveling to the neck and back
- Severe Headaches
- Numbness or tingling in the arm (in extreme cases)
4 Best Ways to Get Rid of Scapula Muscle Knots

Fortunately, there are many effective exercises and stretches to get rid of knots behind the scapula. The most common ones are:
- Stretching Exercises
Stretching exercises can make a great difference in relieving knots under the scapula. Among them, you should try:
- Foam Rolling: You need to take a foam roller and roll it on your upper back and shoulders. This will release tension and increase circulation. Especially stopping at the particular spot of the knot and gently rolling over there to get rid of it.
- Yoga Poses: Various yoga poses, such as child’s pose and downward dog pose, can also help relax the muscles in the scapular area.
- Arm Circles: In this exercise, you have to make small circles with your arms extended to your sides while standing straight. Gradually increase the size of the circles. This will relax the muscles around your shoulder blades and give you relief from knots.
- Massage Therapies
Massage therapy is another fantastic way to get rid of tension in the muscles around the scapula. The best techniques of massage therapies include:
- Deep Tissue Massage: This technique targets deep muscle tissues and uses pressure and slow strokes to break up muscle knots and improve the circulation of the scapula
- Trigger Point Therapy: Trigger points are areas of particular muscle tension and hypersensitivity. This therapy applies pressure to the specific trigger points and relaxes the knots to relieve pain. Your professional therapist may use fingers, thumb, or a special tool to apply pressure to specific points.
- Myofascial Release: This technique targets fascia which is a connective tissue surrounding and supporting muscles. Applying light pressure continuously helps release the restriction and tightness of the fascia that lead to the formation of a knot in the shoulder blade.
- Self-massage: Self-massage also helps release muscle tension and provides you relief from all stubborn knots. Use a tennis ball or massage ball to roll out the tension in your upper back for an effective massage. You need to place the ball between your back and a wall and roll it smoothly over the knotted areas.
- Heat and Cold therapy
Heat and cold therapies are also the best ways to reduce muscle tightness, inflammation, and knots under the scapula.
For heat therapy, your purpose is to warm up the knot. Therefore, you can use a heating pad or hot water bottle. Do not use heat for more than 20 minutes at a time.
For cold therapy, you can use ice packs or wrap frozen vegetables to keep the knots cool and reduce inflammation.
- Strengthening Exercises
Strengthening the muscles around the scapula helps prevent future knots by improving muscle balance and posture. Some effective practices are:
- Shoulder Blade Push-ups: Start in the plank position. Then, focus on pushing your shoulder blades down together. This exercise improves overall shoulder stability by focusing on the muscles surrounding the scapula.
- Reverse Flys: Using dumbbells, bend yourself slightly and lift your arms up to your sides. You will get strengthened muscles in the upper back and shoulders as it squeezes your shoulder blades together.
Prevention Strategies for Knots in Scapula
Now that you are aware of the treatment, remember prevention is equally important. Therefore, implement the following strategies to avoid future muscle knots:
- Correct Posture: Maintain proper posture while performing any life activity. This will prevent strain on the scapular muscles and save you from muscle knots.
- Daily Movement: Take breaks throughout the day to stretch and move your body, especially if you work at a desk.
- Regular Exercise: Incorporate strength training exercises like rows, scapular push-ups, and face pulls into your routine to maintain muscle balance.
- Managing Stress: By practicing different stress-reducing techniques, you can also prevent muscle tension from building up. The most common practices include meditation, deep breathing, and yoga.
Conclusion
Scapula Knots are undoubtedly painful, but they are manageable with the right methods. You can relieve muscle tension and improve your overall shoulder health with stretching, massage, hot and cold, and strengthening exercises in your routine.
Also, you should maintain good posture and regular movement habits to avoid future discomfort.
If the pain continues despite all these strategies, you must consult a professional health care center like King West Chiropractic Health Centre to get immediate treatment and enjoy a pain-free life.
FAQs
The time it takes to get rid of the scapula knot depends on the severity of the knot and the method you are using. With regular exercise and self-massage, you can get relief within a week.
Self-massage, stretching, and strengthening exercises can significantly reduce your scapula knots. However, if the pain continues, you must see a professional therapist.
Over time, poor posture can lead to chronic muscle tension and the formation of lasting knots in the scapula area.