You’ve heard the expressions “pain in the neck” or “pain in the butt” and assumed that they’re just figures of speech to describe a person or a situation that’s unpleasant. However, I know firsthand that stress, trauma, and emotional issues can morph into a pain in your neck, in your butt, and many other places in your body. Here’s how it happens: When you get frustrated or overwhelmed, your muscles tense up, and after a while, the layers of those tight muscles begin to “stick” to the layers of muscle above and below them. Those adhesions are called knots, which you can feel as a lump in your muscle below the surface of the skin. They can be painful, tight, and often tough to get rid of. When you relax, knots may also relax or resolve completely. After a massage or when you’ve been away on vacation, you may notice …