I may need to trim some of these knots out of my hair. Brushing can only do so much!
If it's really bad you could try this. Wash your hair, then put in
lots of conditioner. While it still has the conditioner in, start carefully combing, working up from the ends to the scalp. In other words, brush the ends a little, then move up a bit, and so on.
I know they say not to brush / comb your hair wet, but my hair is extremely fine, so brushing it dry, can actually break it more. With the conditioner on, the hair has a protective barrier and much more supple to get the knots out.
I also used to do this with my daughters hair and it was down past her bottom, nearly to the back of her knees. (She was petrified of hair cuts and thought they would hurt!)