By Lilly Taylor. Foot massage is an effective method to alleviate or decrease foot pain. Although you can give yourself a foot massage, it is ideal to have someone else perform the massage so that you can achieve maximum relaxation during the experience. When your feet hurt after a long hike or from standing all day on a concrete surface, fatigued and overworked muscles are the usual problem.
Foot massage helps to deal with the problem by increasing the circulation to bring nutrient-rich blood into the area, enhancing lymph fluid movement to remove irritating cellular waste products, and relaxing tense muscles that may be contracted to protect weak areas. A combination of both long, surface strokes and short, deep pressure strokes can effectively reach most of the problematic areas in the feet.
When foot pain becomes chronic, lasting over a longer period of time, with no noticeable improvement, you may be experiencing an orthopedic problem with the bones, nerves, tendons or ligaments in your foot. Consult with a physician or podiatrist to identify the exact problem and causes and discuss whether foot massage would be an appropriate treatment.
Often, through improved circulation, massage can create conditions that enable the body to heal itself. Deep tissue massage styles, such as neuromuscular therapy, provide precise treatment directed at specific structures in the foot to decrease nerve and muscle pain.
Sudden onset of foot pain may be the result of an injury. After consulting your physician to rule out any broken bones or other acute damage, consider using foot massage to help alleviate the pain and swelling. Begin by massaging near the outer edges of the injury site, not directly on it.
