20 Benefits of Foot Massage
Massages generally come in different techniques and styles, with all having specific health benefits and most times therapeutic.
Traditional therapeutic techniques focus on relaxing the body, breathing deeply, for a few minutes, to increase alertness and focus.
In the case of acupressure, it improves the health system and flow of energy by targeting the body’s pressure points while aromatherapy and reflexology focus on scented oils and massaging of specific areas on the foot respectively to achieve relaxation.
What is Foot Massage?
Foot massage is a type of massage administered on the feet. It entails pressing the muscles and connective tissues on the feet to cause relaxation and relieve tension or strain.
Certain ancient civilizations considered it useful in curing so many health complications. It is used for the same purposes in modern days.
Foot massage is pivotal in helping us relax after a long day of activities that requires us standing up, moving around or even sitting down for a long period at times.
It is an antidote to feet that tends to swell up and relieves us of any foot pain. Foot massages are not just a way to compliment your partner or showing them how much you care after a long day’s work, but it is a massage that has a lot of health benefits for the body that is not known by a lot of people. Here are the benefits of a foot massage:
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1) It lowers blood pressure:
Increased blood flow to your feet is usually linked to reduced blood pressure (a 50% reduction can lead to a 40% decrease in the onset of elevated blood pressure).
High blood pressure increases the risk of a sudden or severe fall, stroke, heart attack, or other complications, so a regular foot massage would help reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
If blood pressure is too high in your legs, you will have trouble with balance, as you will be requiring more strength to maintain your balance on the foot.
2) It’s good for your sex life:
You should do foot massages whenever you have sex, especially as a form of foreplay to help spice up your sexual life.
According to Carisa Brouiletis, a male sex therapist who works with men, foot massages “can be helpful to ease a lot of tension and reduce discomfort in the area” to “help a sexual partner get off.” It leads to a heightened sense of arousal for you and your partner.
3) Facilitates circulation:
To develop blood flow throughout the body, massage the top of the foot with a large bone (such as a big toe, calf, or heel).
The end of this massage is used as a place where blood is drawn, providing healing and comfort. This massage helps to encourage circulation and promote healing.
While performing this foot massage, the patient should touch one of his or her feet. If both feet are to be massaged, spread both palms down across the foot.
4) It helps deal with symptoms of PMS and menopause:
Foot Massage can help to deal with PMS and menopause symptoms as it alleviates menstrual cramps and hot flashes.
Foot massage helps give you better sleep, mood, and quality of life when dealing with Menstrual Cramps and Hot Flashes. Say bye-bye to stress, insomnia, headaches, and being moody during menopause.
5) Placate cancer symptoms and reduce side effects of chemotherapy:
Foot Massage can reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and treatments that can cause nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.
Foot Massage can also improve coordination, balance, muscle balance and motor skills. According to a study by scientists at Michigan State University, the discovered that foot massages helped greatly in giving relief to cancer patients and helped in treating problems like lack of energy and breathing difficulties.
Also, it helps to lessen the pain, fatigue, and soreness that occur during chemotherapy. It can also prevent the effects of other medications like prednisone, cimetidine and prednisolone in the body.
It is a convenient method of treatment that saves both time and money. Sometimes an appointment is required which are run by your primary care practitioner. Or an alternative or free treatment can be arranged for the patient.
6) Cope with symptoms of multiple sclerosis:
Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disease. Therefore, if you have MS, you will need treatment for those symptoms.
Foot massaging can improve sensory responses to MS symptoms such as pain, dizziness, weight loss, and general fatigue.
It may also aid in relieving a number of common symptoms of MS such as muscle cramps, numbness, and depression. Foot massage is an excellent symptom management practice for MS sufferers.
7) Reduces the risk of foot and ankle injuries:
You can reduce the risk of new knee and ankle injuries by keeping your legs straighter and the ballet flats tight.
Plus, foot massages helps to strengthen the muscles around the ankle and knee that are responsible for protecting the blood vessels from injury.
The practice of stretching your feet also helps prevent sprains and other painful injuries, according to a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The researchers found that Foot Massage therapy led to improved biceps, humeral, phalangeal, and arch unit activation, decreased postural instability, reduced tendon loading and stiffness, decreased foot stretch-induced stress on the left ankle, and improved ankle tendon structure and repair.
8) Lowers the effects of depression and anxiety:
A good foot massage can make the mind feel more relaxed, as it decreases the stress levels of our body.
Many people suffer from mood issues and use massage as an effective therapy for reducing this issue.
This is a great way to help you decrease your stress and boost your overall wellbeing. There are many research studies that have shown that for every 10-minute massage we get in our feet, there is a 0.05% reduction in our symptoms.
9) It benefits pregnant women:
Even though there is no research evidence on the effects on the fetus, it is likely that the benefits to the mother are significant. It may also improve the growth and development of the baby.
10) It decreases nausea and vomiting:
Nausea and vomiting are mostly caused by stomach upsets which vomiting helps to relieve you of, morning sicknesses in pregnant women, special cases of bouts of vomiting and nausea in cancer patients.
Foot massage aids and controls the secondary mechanisms that may lead to nausea and vomiting especially in chronic cases.
Issues such as dehydration and ion imbalance, the beating of the heart and muscle contraction can be controlled by foot massage.
11) It helps you maintain a healthy heart rate:
Heart rate is associated with the heart’s function just like blood pressure. A lot of things occur when the heart beats too quickly.
In some serious situations, the heart struggles to supply the right quantity of blood to the necessary parts of the body because it cannot fill up with blood.
When it is less serious, when the heart beats too fast, it could lead to anxiety, chest pain, and feelings of dizziness.
A study has shown that foot massage reduces the heart rate significantly. Foot massage has the same effect it has on blood pressure on the heart rate. Foot massage takes away much of the stress from the heart evidently.
The effect of foot massage on the body is essential. The body maintains its balance and has fewer risks of heart diseases.
12) Foot massage helps you maintain balance:
A lot of people do not really realize the importance of balance. People who lack balance struggle with walking, running, stand and so many other important body movements in their daily living.
Study has shown that foot massage on people that lack balance due to ailments such as diabetes largely increased their balance.
These people gained back some equilibrium after they participate in foot massage. The aged also suffer from lack of balance and this is caused by the pain that could come from an ailment such as arthritis.
Massage has two-fold importance in this case as it helps restore the body mechanism that is associated with balance and it also relieves pain.
Balance helps our mobility and our daily activities. It is essential and when people struggle with imbalance, foot massage is one of the easiest ways to increase balance and set them back to their daily and normal life.
13) The skin of the feet benefits from foot massage:
Blood circulates freely and properly because of foot massage, the skin of the feet benefit from this increased circulation to a large extent.
The feet are often subjected to a lot of pressure just like our hands. The feet carry much of our weight throughout the day.
We wear ill-fitting shoes and a lot of other things that put the feet under pressure. Massaging the foot helps relieve it and the skin of the feet looks better for this reason.
Foot massage increases the body temperature and improves the flow of blood to the feet. A swollen foot will also benefit from foot massage.
14) Relieving sore muscles:
Massage simply means pressing the muscles and connective tissues to relieve tension in those areas of the body.
When we overwork our muscles from activities such as exercises when we strain a part of the body or we feel sore due to tension the body starts to need some form of relief.
Massaging those sore muscles will lead to relieve and an overall improvement in the quality of life.
15) Relieving joint pain:
The tension that stems from issues such as general stiffness, arthritis, and pain from an old or healing injury can lead to joint pain.
What causes relief to joint pains is actually pressing on the connective tissues that connect the joint. Massage loosens stiff joints and relaxes a tensed muscle.
16) Promotes better sleep:
One of the daily tools for people that suffer insomnia is foot massage. The point is to increase blood circulation through a relaxing and relieving foot massage.
When there is better blood circulation there is a chance that the sleep will be improved.
17) Aids with Migraine and Headache:
Foot massage was administered on people suffering from migraines and headaches in a test conducted in Denmark to establish proof that foot massage helps with migraines and headaches.
The test yielded positive results as these people did not need to take pills and medications to relieve the pain.
The therapeutic use of foot massage can cure migraines and relieve the pain in up to 65 percent.
The quality of life of these people greatly improved when they completed the massage treatments.
Foot massage is important for people that struggle with migraines and headaches. The result is fast and impressive.
18) foot massage reduces how we feel about pain:
Different people respond to pain in different ways. The reactions and experiences are different.
What a person considers excruciating physically or agonizing emotionally can be what another person deals with easily. Our perception of pain is subjective.
Psychologically, we can treat pain with a foot massage because it gives the feeling that someone is taking good care of you and it is a good feeling and it helps handle pain.
Physically, a massage will help look for the point of pain in the body and help relieve it or relax the tension.
19) foot massage improves the mood:
It gives the feeling that someone is caring for you and that triggers a feeling of wellbeing that generally improves the mood.
When you are comforted as a person, the natural response is a good feeling.
20) It affects parts of the brain concerned with reward:
The parts of the brain that is concerned with rewards and the moderation of pain are targeted during a foot massage.
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Conclusion
When it comes to foot massage the benefits are plenty and have positive effects on both our physical and mental health.
While professional massages are recommended, it can be costly at times and with modern tech at hand finding alternatives have become easier.
Online courses and other resources can help you learn about the different types of techniques you could use for a foot massage.
It only requires minimum time but has everlasting benefits for you, your friends, family, and even partner.
