Foot Health and Reflexology

The foot is one of the most used parts of the body, but the last to receive holistic care until it manifests in pain. Pedicures and surface levels of the foot, like the nails or skin, tend to get more attention than the tendons, muscles, joints or bones. Foot health is important because it is helps maintain balance in the body and the mind.

Bad fitting shoes, wearing high heels continuously, inappropriate footwear and over exercise can cause injury to own feel. Making sure that your feet are cared for and treated with care will help the host be mobile.

Having pain in the foot can signify health issues in the body like diabetes, raynaud’s phenomenon, gout, or arthritis. If massage pressure placed on foot causes pain in the body, that may be an indication that dis-order in the body area is inflamed or manifesting an underlying health issue.

The most common foot problems caused by neglect to the feet which cause long term issue and pain when under pressure are bunions, blisters, athlete’s foot, corns, ingrown toenail or fungal nail infection. Also, some medication like immune-suppressants will cause discoloured toe nails.

Chronic foot pain can be debilitating as it will make walking, exercising and being mobile very difficult. When you look skeletal system, its easy to see how the feet are the stability of the body and connected to other body systems like the nervous system.

There are medical professionals who specialise in foot care like a chiropractor (uses a massage technique to relieve tension in the foots muscles, tendons, bones and joints. For example, a Podiatrist is an expert in detecting, treating and advising about foot dis-orders) and an Orthopaedic specialises in dis-orders in the musculoskeletal system part of the foot.

Reflexology is a complementary therapy that is used to massage and relieve tension in foot, as well as trigger any pain that may be linked to that pressure point in the foot. This practice can also alleviate stress, stimulate the nerves, relax tendons and muscles in the feet.

This therapy involves understanding the foot reflexology map that identifies which points of the foot are connected to which organ in the body. On the foot map, there is also a ‘reflex zone map’ that can be divided as four sections on the foot. The heal is the ‘pelvic area’, the sole is the ‘abdominal area’, the arch is the ‘chest’ and the ball is ‘the head’. Knowledge of human biology helps to feel confident about the relationship between the two. Finger and thumb massage is used to penetrate the pressure points to stimulate blood circulation, release tension, which also relieves stress because of the mind-body connection.

There are many techniques that are part of reflexology practice like The Rwo Shur, which involves thumbing pressure points in the foot. For deeper pressure, knuckles and sticks may be used. Cream applied can help to stimulate blood circulation as well as energise the mind and body. The Ingham technique focuses on using the thumb and finger to put pressure and movement on selected points. This method can rebalance the body and mind to a state of relaxation.

The benefits of reflexology are that:

– It stimulates blood circulation around your body.

– It connects to the nervous system and may relieve nerve pain.

– It can reflex the mind and body.

– Any underlying disorders in the organs can be detected by putting pressure on the relevant points relating to the foot map.

– It relieves foot pain using massage techniques.