Sore Trapezius fixed with two fingers

I went out pretty hard on my most recent training block, lots of max effort intervals and climbing out of the saddle up some steep hills. I started to develop a huge knot in my trapezius between my right shoulder blade and spine, but since the good weather wasn't going to last, I kept on riding. I ended up having to abort my last ride and limp home in extreme discomfort - that was 4 days ago, and since then I've been on a steady diet of T1, T3, Robaxacet, heating pads, laying down, and pestering my partner for back rubs, none of which seemed to be fixing the problem.

I figured it was the result of forgetting my form on the bike, or by ramping up my training load too quickly. In desperation I did some searching for new techniques to loosen up the huge knot in my right trapezius, and came across this article about the Acromioclavicular Joint:

Trapezius Knot? Check The AC Joint For A Solution

I was skeptical that rubbing a ligament above my shoulder joint would fix days of upper back/neck pain, but in this video the first and especially the second "pull-apart test" at 2:20 were definitely positive for tenderness in my right shoulder. It also explains where the AC joint is located, which can be a little tricky to find for the beginner:



So, how to treat the AC joint? Really simple, you just take two fingers and rub it for a minute - it will feel tender pretty quickly. Then I left it alone for about 15 minutes and repeated a few more times before bed. This morning, I woke up and I could tell immediately that the knot in my trapezius was nearly gone. What a relief!

The good news is the pain in my trapezius/back is gone. The bad news is the pain has moved to my right shoulder, where I suppose the problem was all along. Should take care of itself if I can take it easy for a few days....

[strava]https://www.strava.com/activities/401761818[/strava]

Update on this issue: While the AC Joint massage helped, it didn't fix the root problem - the neck and shoulder pain returned, and I've been struggling with it for almost 4 weeks but have finally found the root cause. Not surprisingly, it's technique, specifically posture on the bike. Once I consciously engaged my core muscles more, which in turn reduced the load on my hands and shoulders, the knots are slowly working out.

This is great! I have the same exact problem.

Any updates?

I have been working on stabilization exercises. Particularly, swiss ball planks, standard planks, & yoga have helped a bit.