February is about celebrating love, so why not treat yourself or a loved one to a quick and easy foot self massage? In our fast paced world, stress is a part of everyday life and our feet get a lot of mileage. Stress causes our body to tense up, particularly in the neck, back, and shoulders. Musculoskeletal tension, headaches, stiffness, and fatigue are just a few of the physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. At Rebalance Physical Therapy, our therapists often work on patient’s feet—utilizing several pressure points to decrease tension and reduce joint compression to help realign their feet. But a bonus of footwork is that is can help relieve stress, too.  With the guidance of this blog post, you can do it yourself, on your own time! We’re sharing two of our favorite self massages to do at home. The first one is a short yet sweet massage originates from China and is also used in acupuncture as an acupressure point. It can help you or a loved one find some stress relief at home at the end of a long day or week.

1– First, make sure the skin of the foot is free of varicose veins, cuts, bruises, or moles before beginning. Sit on the edge of a chair, couch, or chair, and have your partner cross one leg over the other.

2– Next, apply pressure between the second and third toes with your thumb on the bottom part of the foot and index finger on the top part of the foot. Move your fingers a third of the way down the foot and massage the pressure point found here for 1-2minutes. This may be a bit uncomfortable at first, but the tension should eventually ease up.

3– Repeat on the other foot, take a few deep breaths, and you’re on your way to a stress-free, restful night.

Fascia is the connective tissue that encases the whole body. Just like your muscles, spots in your body’s fascia can become tight and restricted. Restricted pressure points on the fascia of your feet can lead to foot pain and misalignment. Through self-myofascial release, you can address these pressure points in your feet with the use of a tennis, lacrosse, or golf ball.

1– Sit in a comfortable seat where your feet touch the floor.

2– Place the ball underneath the sole of your foot and begin to slowly roll the ball around.

3– Roll the ball around with your foot until you find a pressure point. Begin to gently and carefully push your foot down into the ball where you’ve discovered the pressure point.

4– After a few minutes, the pressure point should begin to soften and you can continue to roll the ball with your foot to find the next pressure point.

If you’re interested in learning more about myofascial release, Rebalance Physical Therapist Elayne Geba will be leading a workshop on the topic! In Treat Yourself, you’ll learn how to use balls, rollers, and other myofascial release tools and techniques to release tight muscles and fascia all over the body. The workshop will be held virtually through Google Meet on Thursday, February 25, 2021, from 7-8:30pm EST. More information and registration can be found Here.

A healthy mind and healthy body go hand-in-hand, and both often need maintenance and fine tuning. If you or your loved ones are waking up feeling depleted and off-balance, contact Rebalance Physical Therapy to learn how to improve your overall musculoskeletal health, enhance your flexibility, and get your strength and energy rebalanced again!