Happy April everyone!

This month, I’m covering the importance of foot massage - both self massage and massaging a friend or partner. My Minute Massage section gives easy instructions for foot massage, and I've also included more information about Reflexology.

- heather wibbels (615.294-6672)

Why is a foot massage so relaxing? Consider this: every day most people take between 6,000 and 10,000 steps. The entire weight of the body rests on just 20 - 35 square inches of the sole of the foot. High heels place the full weight of the body on an even smaller surface area. At the end of the day or a hard workout, it seems natural to stretch the legs, arms, neck and back, but how many of us actually stretch or massage our feet at the end of the day? The feet need the same care as rest of the body.

When I work on the feet in a massage, many of my clients sigh and say, "I didn't know my feet were so tight until you started working on them." Because the foot is one of the most used parts of the body, and because it's often an afterthough, the foot languishes, continuing to support the body and keep you moving even as it becomes tighter and tighter. In addition, reflexology asserts that the waste products of the body that collect in muscles can also collect in the feet, making massage of the feet even more important for overall health.

So what does a foot massage accomplish? During the day, spending a lot of time on your feet will cause mild to moderate swelling of the feet and ankles depending on the health of your circulatory system. Massage can increase blood flow to the area, and encourage reabsorption of the fluid into the lymphatic system. Massage also loosens and lightly stretches the tendons and ligaments of the feet, keeping adhesions from forming and maintaining structural inegrity (the ankle and foot support the body using a large, complicated mass of tendons and ligaments to keep everything moving smoothly). By increasing the blood flow, massage also decreases the healing time for small microtears that may occur over the course of a long day.

Many jobs require long periods of standing, leaving the weight of the body pressing down on the heels and balls of the toe for hours. In addition, most shoes worn in a business environment are not made for comfort to structural support. High heels are particularly tough on the feet and the back. Taking even five minutes to squeeze and massage the feet at the end of the day (see the Minute Massage section) can make a huge difference in the health and resilience of the feet. Listen to your feet, they're faithfully supporting you day after day. Take some time out for a good foot rub and thank them for all the hard work they do keeping you moving!

More on Massage: Reflexology

Reflexology works on the theory that all parts of the body are reflected in the hands and feet. This means that working specific places on your hands and feet have an effect on other parts of the body. There are ten vertical zones (five on each hand and foot) and within each zone there are reflexes (locations) that correspond to organs or areas of the body. When these reflexes are worked, pressed or massaged, they cause positive change in the area corresponding to the reflex. For example, if a client has sinus issues or allergies, the sinus reflex (tips of the toes) can be worked to relieve some of that congestion.

Some reflexologists maintain that reflexology has been around since the time of the Egyptians. However, the modern roots of reflexology come from the past 100 years. In the early 20th century, zone theory was a new and exciting concept. The idea behind zone theory is that palpation and massage of specific places of the body have an analgesic effect on other parts of the body. Vertical and horizontal zones on the hands and feet seemed to be cause pain relief and healing in other parts of the body. Eunice Ingham, a physical therapist, made a key breakthrough – the reflexes on the feet mirrored the placement and location of organs. This meant that specific places relating to the stomach, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc., could be identified and used in treatment. She traveled the country to demonstrate and teach reflexology to people to treat themselves, thus popularizing reflexology.

How does it work? There are some theories that reflexology works by stimulating nerve endings in the feet and hands that run through or branch out to different parts of the body. Other people compare it to the energy meridians in acupressure. Quite honestly, there hasn’t been a solid scientific explanation that has been agreed upon by reflexologists and the medical community. So, we don’t really know the physiological mechanism through which reflexology works, except through experiential evidence. Massage therapists and reflexologists have found reflexology to be an effective means to treat various illnesses and symptoms in the body. Please give me a call if you'd like to know more about reflexology (615.294-6672)

The following sites contain more information about reflexology:

• International Institute of Reflexology
• International Academy of Advanced Reflexology