Does Reflexology help foot pain/tension or plantar fasciitis?
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by clients, is “will reflexology help my foot pain/tension or plantart fasciitis”?
Reflexology is a whole body treatment, where the therapists stimulates reflex points on the feet to effect healing in the corresponding parts of the body. Reflexology allows the body to rebalance, which assists you to:
- De-stress
- Improve your sleeping patterns
- Reduce anxiety
- Calm an over active mind
- Relax the body to aid digestion
Reflexology does not work on the muscles of the feet. So the short answer is no, reflexology does not help with foot pain/tension or Plantar Fasciitis. (For more information on Plantar Fasciitis see previous blog post >> http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/blog/heel-pain-part-1)
If you have any aches, pains or tension in either of your feet then a deep tissue leg massage is the best treatment for you. The reason for treating the whole leg, rather than just the foot is that some of the muscles that control the foot i.e. flex or extend it start just under the knee and the same is true for the some of the muscles that control the toes. This is why if a client comes to Vitality Therapy with a foot issue we always massage the leg as well as the foot.
So if you have problem with your feet why not book in for a deep tissue leg massage.
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One of the first things you learn as a massage therapist is that everyone wants deep pressure in massage. This is because no one wants a light fluffy massage because they feel there will be no benefit and they have wasted both their time and money. The second thing you learn as a massage is that everyone has their own idea what deep pressure is and what would be light pressure for one person is deep pressure for another person. Even if you take one client, the pressure they consider deep on their tight shoulders will be different from their idea of deep pressure on their legs. So there is no fixed concept of what deep pressure is, it varies from client to client, and with the same client it varies treatment to treatment and depending up on the part of their body your are treating. Given all this how do we work out pressure in clinic. First, we base it on our experience, your body type, the tension in the muscle we are working on. But most of all we talk to you about how the pressure feels to you and respect your preferences for pressure. I am sure most of you have heard me talk about good pain. Its based on a phenomenon that I have seen in clinic over the years. This is where someone comes into clinic in pain, we apply pressure and the pain turns into a good pain – because the pressure is a source of relief. For some people this “good pain” just feels right. This good pain is strong but welcome and came sometimes be described as a “sweet ache”. For some clients the good pain, is such a welcome relief that pain doesn’t even seem the right word. A word of warning, I like all my other therapists are only human and sometimes we get it wrong. This can be if we have missed a trigger point that is very sensitive, and we go into deep or the opposite can happen where a muscle locks up and we apply pressure and you as the client can’t feel anything. These situations can also arise due to change with your body i.e. an intense gym session or longer work hours than usual so lots of extra time sitting at your desk. I try to ask all my clients regularly without sounding like its some automated message, do you want the pressure deeper or lighter and if so let me know. I know the other therapists in clinic do this as well. In clinic we always want you to get the most out of your treatment. So please remember we always welcome feedback on pressure throughout your treatment.
How to increase the chances of a natural birth…
Interventions during labour and childbirth are on the rise but a large proportion of pregnant women would like a natural birth but are concerned about pain relief. Against this back drop, a recent randomised control trial looked at the effectiveness of a two day birth preparation course in supporting natural birth. The birth preparation course attended by both the pregnant women and their birthing partners, covered the standard medical advice and self-administered complementary therapies including
- visualisation, breathing, massage and yoga to enhance relaxation
- yoga and acupressure to facilitate labour progression
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Does abstinence improve sporting performance?
I know lots of my readers take part in sporting competitions and they always want to perform at their peak and win. So is it best to abstain the night before a competition? Certainly here is a myth that abstinence before sporting activities improves performance? But does it? Researchers at the University of Florence reviewed hundreds of studies to determine if there was any truth in the myth that abstinence helps performance. They found no evidence to support the myth that abstinence before a sporting competition improves performance. In addition they found no evidence that having sex the night before impairs performance the next day. They came across one study that found marathon runners did better the next day after having sex the night before. All sporting competitions are as much about the mind as the physical activity. So the impact of sex the night before on marathon runners may be psychological. Maybe that is why the organisers of the Rio Olympics distributed more than 450,000 condoms in the athletes' village during the 2016 Olympics. Reference Stefani Laura, Galanti Giorgio, Padulo Johnny, Bragazzi Nicola L., Maffulli Nicola, 2016, Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review, Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 7, pg 246 http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2016.00246
