What do we mean when we say a muscle is "tight"?

I'm trying to remove the word "tight" from my professional vocabulary.

And yes, as you can imagine, that's not easy. For a massage therapist, and one currently undertaking additional Level 5 training in advanced remedial massage techniques, "tight" is a word that crops up a lot.

And what's wrong with it, anyway? Many (most? all?) people relate to the feeling of a tight muscle, and it gets the point across doesn't it? Well, kinda. But not as well as I'd like.

"I've got a tight muscle here" is a great first clue as to how I can help you, but the t-word hides a range of potential meanings and it really helps to be more specific.

Do you actually mean your "tight" muscle is:

• tender to the touch, all over?

• mostly ok to press on, but has one or more specific tender spots?

• painful even when there's no pressure on it?

• painful when you tense or stretch it while moving?

• not painful per se, but feeling stiff and lacking its usual range of motion?

• tense or "held" even when you try to relax it (fancy word: hypertonic)?

• shortened, so it pulls on other structures (e.g. joints)?

That's not even a comprehensive list, it's off the top of my head. It illustrates the point, though: our experience of "tightness" can have to do with one or more of a range of factors including muscle length, neurological activation, pain and stiffness, and more.

The great news is, all of the above (and more) can be treated with massage.

I certainly don't expect you to trot out words like hypertonic when talking about how you feel. Unless you want to. But it helps to break down what the idea of "tightness" means in your specific instance, so I can best pick techniques and work with your body to find relief.

So these are the sorts of questions I'll be asking during consultation and treatment, to try to get details like "it doesn't hurt usually, it mostly just feels stiff, but it's tender when I press on this spot here". These are clues that bring me closer to understanding the particular profile of your discomfort, and being able to pick the right techniques to help you with it.