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If I told you that one of the major benefits of foot massage is that it can help you achieve great health, you probably won’t believe me. People generally go to great lengths in order to maintain their health, but not many are able to ascertain it. This is because they tend to ignore a simple practice that works like a charm for both their mind and body. It is perfectly alright to be skeptical about the many health benefits of foot massage, since I am talking not only about relieving pain in your foot.
The benefits of foot massage are not specific to one part of the body; rather, they are spread across the entire body. For instance, they are known to not only relieve a sore neck, but also provide you with improved liver health. It is surprising to hear that, I know; but you probably have heard a bit about reflexology and how it works. If you haven’t, let me introduce you to the basics of reflexology and how it works.
Reflexology is a simple, effective, and therapeutic method of improving health and relieving pain all over the body. It is achieved by targeting and then stimulating certain pressure points on the hands and the feet. A lot of people prefer going to a professional for reflexology, but you can easily obtain the many health benefits it offers by your own through a foot massage. It is a great way to promote health and wellness, while requiring only a few minutes a day to perform.
So if you’re looking to achieve greater health for your mind and body, here are no less than 17 major health benefits of foot massage that you achieve today.
1. It’s good for your sex life
All it takes is some massage oil, a few scented candles and light music to set the perfect mood for a night of passionate lovemaking. A foot massage is a selfless gift to your significant other, it helps them forget about minor annoyances they’ve had to deal with throughout the day and it is a great form of foreplay.
The feet are a great starting point since they can cause mild arousal and offer easy transition to more powerful erogenous zones like the back of the knees and inner thighs.
2. Improves circulation
Due to a mostly sedentary lifestyle we have become unaccustomed to using our muscles on a regular basis. The muscles in the feet get hardly any exercise and circulation is often impaired by tight and uncomfortable shoes. A 10–20 minute massage session before going to bed can greatly improve circulation in the lower extremities, which is particularly important for people suffering from diabetes.
3. Helps prevent foot and ankle injuries
Massaging the feet can help with joint pain and aid recovery after an injury, as well as reduce muscle soreness. However, when massage is combined with foot and ankle strengthening exercises and stretching it can prevent future injuries, as well as speed up recovery of existing injuries. A short session three to five times a week will ensure that you minimize the risk of injury. We all have our moments of clumsiness, but a strengthened and flexible ankle and foot ensures that we can avoid unpleasant injuries.
4. Reduces the effects of depression and anxiety
Looking at some of the studies that have been done on the effects of reflexology, it seems that this type of foot massage goes beyond simply putting people in a relaxed state for the duration of the massage.
Frequent sessions have been shown to significantly reduce anxiety in cancer patients. The techniques can be learned fairly quickly and can serve as an effective way of dealing with depression and anxiety.
5. Helps with headaches and migraines
A study conducted in Denmark showed that people suffering from headaches and migraines showed great improvement after receiving reflexology treatments. The test subjects stopped taking their medication, and three months after completing their treatments, 65% had reduced symptoms while a small number had been cured. It is believed that those who had reflexology foot massages managed to make additional positive lifestyle changes that may have contributed to their impressive results.
6. Lowers blood pressure
High blood pressure has become fairly common in modern men and women. It can be caused by a number of things such as stress and an unhealthy diet, but in most cases it has no particular cause and is believed to be a result of environmental factors and genetics. A study conducted on healthcare staff working with elderly people suffering from dementia – a job that is highly stressful and both physically and mentally taxing – showed that a 10-minute foot massage session up to three times a week resulted in improved mood, less anxiety and lower blood pressure.
7. Helps with flat feet and plantar fasciitis
People with flat feet do not have a normal foot arch due to ligament laxity, which causes the arch to collapse. It can have no major effect on a person, but some people experience foot pain after even mild physical activity due to flat feet. Chronic heel pain can be caused by inflammation or deterioration of the plantar fascia (the connective tissue that supports the arch of the foot). Regular foot exercise coupled with deep massage, where you apply strong pressure on the arch, can help significantly lessen the pain and even cure these conditions.
8. Helps alleviate symptoms of PMS and menopause
The most common symptoms suffered during PMS include feelings of sadness and unhappiness, irritability, anxiety, tension, insomnia, fatigue, headaches and mood swings. Most of these symptoms can be alleviated with daily foot massages during this period. In the same vein, symptoms of menopause, which are similar to those suffered during PMS with the addition of hot flashes and depression, can be effectively minimized with regular massages.
9. Reduces effects of edema in pregnant women
Edema, that is, swelling due to fluid retention in the feet and ankles, is very common in pregnant women, mostly in the last trimester. This condition can be combated by massaging the feet on a daily basis, coupled with plenty of rest and the right diet.
10. It Enhances Good Sleep
If you suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia or you just go through sleepless nights due to mental stress then trying foot massage is the best deal. It has been found out that few minutes of foot massage can do wonders for helping you goof night sleep. Foot massage releases our stress and subsequently helps you fall to sleep.
11. Relaxes Our Mind And Body
Foot massage is a simple method to keep your mind and body calm. Foot massage relieves our anxiety and persuades deep relaxation. Our stress gets stored in plexus reflex found in the feet and foot massage releases this stress and helps our mind and body feeling relaxed. Foot massage also removes the blockages and enhances the flow of energy in the entire body.
12. Improves Nail, Skin And Hair Growth
If you have hair problems, weak nails or skin problems like dry skin then foot massage is three in one solution. Massaging your feet with lukewarm coconut oil or almond oil will ensure your healthy hair, skin and nails and will also improve the conditions of all the three.
13. Increased energy and rejuvenation
Metabolism is very important for the body, since it helps in energy production. Reflexology has been known to boost the metabolic rate, which in turn allows the body to create more energy. Getting a relaxing foot massage will help you feel energized once again, and will rejuvenate the body if the correct pressure points are stimulated.
The great thing about foot massage is that it allows a person to feel more energized when they are feeling sluggish. This is because the different techniques used in reflexology target specific pressure points, which leads to energy creation and rejuvenation in the body.
14. Faster recovery from injury
Foot massage has also known to be a great reliever in helping people and athletes recover from injury. Reflexology combines improved blood circulation, and enhancing nerve activity. The result is improved metabolism, which helps in generating new cells faster. This is why wounds are able to heal faster, and why injured patients always feel better after a reflexology session.
Rehabilitation can be a long and frustrating period, since it is in this time where the body recovers from the wounds and regains the strength and flexibility back. Foot massage has been found to play an instrumental role in helping rehabilitating injured areas to heal at a faster rate and become more flexible. Whether it is a sprained ankle, twisted knee, muscle spasms, or broken bones, foot massage helps because it flushes out swelling in the joints and it aids recovery by loosening scar tissue and stretching out tightness.
15. Increases intimacy
Foot massage has also been known to increase intimacy between couples as well. According to a California-based author and licensed massage therapist, Yasuko Kawamura, a foot massage can help increase oxytocin production in the body. This helps in boosting the sex drive, and will also increase the desire to be touched as well.
She makes it a point to help couples understand that in order to build and increase intimacy the act of touching and massaging regularly should be a part of their daily life. It shouldn’t only be during foreplay that they think about foot massage, and you can easily learn how to massage your partner’s foot in a non-sexual manner as well.
16. Stimulates nervous system
The foot has got over 7,000 different nerve endings, which are all connected to separate organs in the body. Reflexology works on massaging the feet in a specific manner, which helps to clean and open out the neural pathways. This in turn sees improved flexibility and functionality in the body as well.
A study conducted on the effect of reflexology on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS), to help find out whether foot massage actually helps in stimulating the nervous system found that it was highly effective in stimulating the sensory nervous system found in the feet. The study revealed that people that got foot massages had a greater BRS, which was brought on by stimulating the nervous system.
17. Enhances immunity
The benefits of foot massage reflexology also include increasing and boosting immunity in the human body. This has been backed by research, which has shown self-foot reflexology massage can actually boost immune functions in women. A study was conducted to find out what effect reflexology massages have on stress responses, depression, and immune functions in middle-aged women.
The study showed a significant difference in blood pressure, depression, perceived stress, and natural-killer cells. The results indicated that a foot massage is highly effective in reducing depression, strengthening the immune system, and decreasing stress responses in middle-aged women.
Source: https://healthsubmit.blogspot.com.ng/2018/01/17-health-benefits-of-massaging-feet-you-wish-to-know.html?m=0
