Unknown to many people, benefits of foot massage are so many that you can’t compare the practice to medicinal treatments. The best part of it is that there aren’t side-effects that come with it. Foot massage doesn’t only relieve pain in your foot but also brings a sweet healing to your mind.
Foot massage is also known as reflexology. I know many people ignore the practice, but embrace other kinds of massage. The truth is that foot massage overshadows all other kinds of body massage. Furthermore, the practice doesn’t restrict the location where you do it because you can perform it at home too.
This article will help you begin to appreciate the value of foot massage, and possibly make you start to observe the practice. It’ll adequately provide the benefits and explain succinctly some terminologies associated with the practice.
What’s reflexology?
As I had said before, reflexology and foot massage have no difference and are directly the meaning of each other. Reflexology or foot massage is the massage on the feet and hands where the therapist targets at the reflex points while massaging. The reflex points have corresponding organs in all parts of the body.
It’s best when you reserve the practice to a trained therapist who can easily trace where reflex points are for an effective massage. However, you can do it by yourself or let your partner do it for you if you want to make it a routine practice. With the help of a foot massager, you’ll find the activity easy and soothing.
Where do we do foot massage?
There’s no specific location where you’re compelled to carry out reflexology. As a matter of fact, the practice is timeless, and you can do it from any locality. I prefer to have it at the spas where there is enough equipment that guarantees an effective foot massage.
Athletes mainly have foot massage in the field of play or even at the gym centers. There are a section of people who would rather have it at the hospital. These because they’ve total belief that medical staffs are trained and have an essential experience to do it. They wouldn’t mind the specializations of the medical officers.
With all the necessary equipment in place, I simply don’t see why you aren’t having a foot massage from the confine of your home. In fact, you can conduct it from your bedroom shortly before going to bed. The choice is all yours; you can do the reflexology on yourself or let your partner help you.
What do I need for an effective foot massage?
I bet you want to experience a soothing and relaxing foot massage, don’t you? It doesn’t come for free, so you need to invest in time, equipment and labor resource. It’s important to seek the services of a trained therapist who has a better understanding on foot massage.
There is equipment that can only improve the effectiveness of a foot massage. Equipment like; foot massager, vibrating foot massager, and foot roller massager form the basis for a painless reflexology. Sadly, it isn’t easy to afford to have all these equipment at home, so the best therapy with sophisticated devices remains that of the spa.
Health benefits of foot massage
A large percentage of the benefits of foot massage I know are related to health, and the remaining percentage heighten the level of your luxury. It can only get better as a proper foot massage can make you achieve the two results. The following are the health benefits of foot massage;
1. Relieve stress and promote better relaxation
It isn’t easy to find anyone in this modern world without any form of stress with the daily challenges that come in our ways. The best thing we can do is to prevent your stress from graduating into depression which can be a fatal condition. And this is where a foot massage emerges at the nick of time to solve your stress.
Any kind of massage mainly targets the neural pathways of the body hence ensuring stress alleviation. Many findings have indicated improved condition of critically ill-patient and elderly patients. Relaxation will just come by default when your stress is relieved.
2. Improves your immunity
It’s good when your body defense system works well because it prevents your health from reaching deplorable condition. Various findings show that reflexology will have a positive result on stress, depression and blood pressure. This is a clear indication that foot massage boosts immunity.
3. Alleviate the feeling of anxiety
Foot massage especially Aroma foot massage elicit the brain to release dopamine, which is vital in relieving depression and anxiety. In fact, many findings have shown that foot massage can improve the mental condition of patients.
If you don’t treat anxiety in good time, it can result in depression. So, why don’t you do it regularly to obtain this priceless benefit?
4. A natural pain reliever
There are people who can’t stomach taking medicine of any route; whether through injection or through the oral route. The best way to solve your pain issues is to embrace foot massage as a natural way to relieve pain. The ideal cure for back pain is a proper foot massage because there won’t be incidences of side-effects.
The best way to reduce pain on an expectant woman is through reflexology. It works better if you do the practice alongside some essential oils. Many pregnant women, especially those in their last trimester like it because it poses no risk to both the mother and unborn baby.
5. Reduces insomnia
Going to bed is one thing, and getting to sleep is another thing. Many people find it difficult to fall asleep and sleep soundly. It isn’t a good idea to adopt the use of sleep aids to battle your sleeping disorder because they’re highly addictive.
The worst part of sleep enhancers is that they can cause dependence and many other side-effects. It’s the solar plexus reflexes where stress resides so when a therapist conducts a proper therapy; then sleep will surely come.
6. Increases intimacy
Do you know anyone who doesn’t want to be good in bed? When I talk about being good in bed, I don’t mean good at sleeping, but I mean good at lovemaking. A renowned therapist, Yasuko Kawamura in her finding pointed out that a good massage is all one needs for an increased sex drive.
Foot massage increases the production of the hormone oxytocin. The hormone is responsible for the good feeling when your partner touches you. The level of your intimacy can improve when you honor a culture of regular foot massage at home just before bedtime. It’s also good to learn ways of massaging your partner feet in a non-sexual way at times.
7. Improves blood circulation
A foot massage is what you need after wearing shoes that suffocate your feet all day long. A regular foot massage enhances a better flow of oxygen in your body that in turn promotes better health. When there’s a better circulation within your body, then your body organs will properly function.
A study carried out in 2003; found out that foot massage has direct effects on blood pressure and serum lipid level. The study concluded that regular massage on foot could improve circulation and also helpful for the reduction of diastolic pressure.
8. Relieves PMS symptoms
In a random study to establish how massage on various parts of the body can help relieve pains associated with PMS. The organs included; the ear, hand, and foot, but it emerged that foot massage is the massage that helps in minimizing PMS symptoms.
If you aren’t a woman, you might not know the awful experience that PMS brings. Among the symptoms are; general sadness, headache, tension, fatigue, and irritability. You can be safe from experiencing such symptoms during your menses if you observe regular foot massage. In fact, even pain that 50% of women experience, can reduce massively.
9. Minimizes symptoms of cancer
Is there any disease that tortures the world the way cancer do at the moment? Cancer will never discriminate you whether you come from a high or a low social class, it will be there. Furthermore, there are various kinds of cancers that only fortunate individual can evade even a single type. The management of cancer is difficult but brings more result than its treatment.
The medications of cancer come with serious side-effects that you need a way of reducing. Foot massage is one way to eliminate the harmful effects of the continuous chemotherapy. In fact, a random study among the hospitalized cancer patients indicated a reduced level of the side effects after reflexology.
It’s important to point out that reflexology doesn’t cure cancer, but it has the ability to potentiate the side-effects of its treatments.
10. Relief from arthritis
There’s a misconception that arthritis is only a disease of the elderly, but I want to make it clear that the disease can catch up with you no matter the age. The truth about arthritis especially rheumatoid arthritis is that it’s more common in women than men. Arthritis doesn’t have treatment, and that makes its management very vital.
Rheumatoid arthritis, for instance, is characterized by inflammation of body joints that can spread the pain all over your body. The best way to alleviate the pain is to observe a culture of regular foot massage. You can do it before going to bed with the help of best foot massager for maximum results.
11. Quicker recovery from injuries
Have you ever wonder why athletes go for a massage after any kind of injury? Well, the answer is that they want a faster recovery so that they may continue taking part in their favorite sports. Let’s not confine it to athletes alone because anyone can get an injury.
Reflexology enhances a better circulation of oxygen and an improved nerve activity which promote proper metabolism within your body. The result of a better metabolism leads to the generation of new cells, something that will make you feel better faster.
The main types of injuries that a foot massage speedily heals are; broken bones, muscle spasm, twisted ankle and sprained. The healing comes as a result of flushing out swellings at the joints and loosening of the scar tissue through reflexology. In addition, foot massage aids in regaining of stability and flexibility thus ideal for rehabilitation of the injured patients.
12. Reduces migraines and headache
At one point in your life, you’ve experienced either a severe headache or an unbearable migraine and went for pain relievers. It isn’t a good idea to keep using medications whenever you have a headache because your body can develop dependency. The worst part is that the accumulation of analgesic chemicals in your stomach can result in acute ulceration.
Fortunately, with just a regular massage, your associated headache issues can be a thing of the past. When a therapist applies pressure on the gaps between you big and second toes, there’s relief of fatigue, tiredness of the eye, migraines, and headache.
In this treatment, reflexology works by releasing stress and tension in the muscles thus bringing calmness. The healing of the ankle pain through the massage on the acupuncture points is one of the vibrating massager benefits.
Will you keep going for medicinal analgesics or begin a regular massage?
13. Stimulates nervous system
The entire exercise of reflexology works nearly on the basis of connectivity with the nerve ending and CNS. The foot alone has over 7000 nerve endings that link various other body organs to the foot. It’s important to regularly have a massage in order to clean out and open the neural pathways to promote flexibility and functionality of the body.
In fact, a study to establish the effects of a foot massage on a Baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS), found out that massage indeed stimulates the sensory nervous system. The study clearly showed that people who frequently had foot massage had higher BRS when compared with those who never had. Among the many foot roller massager benefits, one of them is that it perfectly works well to stimulate sensory organs.
14. Improved energy and rejuvenation
No one wants to grow old, and that’s why many anti-aging gels are currently in use. Anti-aging chemicals come with immense side-effects that can make you regret using them. One sure way to stay young and energetic is when you embrace the exercise of foot massage. Most studies indicate that reflexology improves the body’s metabolism which in turn ensures the body’s vitality.
One of the many benefits of the foot massage machine, when used well, is that it allows you to regain some energy even if you were worn out. The machine works on specific target points to bring about rejuvenation and healing to the body.
15. Enhances the health of the skin and nails
Having a regular foot massage with the help of natural oils and anti-microbial can help in fighting infections on the skin and nails. It’s a sure way of fighting the formation of thick callous on the edges of your feet. In addition, when you incorporate natural oils like eucalyptus in your massage, it can help in eliminating athlete’s foot.
Conclusion
It’s good that many individuals honor the call of having body massage, but it’s sad that we neglect our feet. You can afford to have a foot massage at any location and varied cost. If you find it easy having it at your home, you can purchase massage equipment, and do be assured of doing it constantly.
I know you’ve amazed at seeing the numerous health benefits of foot massage, but you won’t believe it if I told you that there’s still more. In fact, the benefits in this article are only a half of the total benefits of the exercise. Besides, there are studies currently going on to establish all the health benefits of reflexology.
The health benefits of foot massage have made many patients to minimize the use of medications just to embrace the exercise. Many patients find it easy to manage their conditions through massage after undergoing risky chemotherapies. Thanks to the absence of side-effects in foot massage.
Whenever you undertake foot massage, the results are enormous. Apart from the health benefits, it has recreational benefits that will keep you calm and feel positive in life.
Are you for a foot massage or against? I see no reason for you to ignore it.
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