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November - Eastern Arts
Massage and Foot Pain
Foot pain can result from various issues.
Many suffer from Plantar Fasciitis, others from shin splints, low or high arches or arthritis. Many people just do not know what the pain is from, only that it hurts.
Massage has proven to dramatically improve and even remove the discomfort of foot pain. Often trigger points in the calves will cause much of the pain involved.
According to Doctors Janet Travell and David Simons in their widely acclaimed medical textbook "Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual" myofascial trigger points (tiny contraction knots) in overworked or poorly conditioned muscles are the most frequent cause of pain in the ankles, feet, and toes.
Headaches?
Of the 45 million Americans who suffer from chronic headaches, more than 60 percent suffer from migraines. For many, it’s a distressing disorder that is triggered by stress and poor sleep. In a recent study, massage therapy recipients exhibited fewer migraines and better sleep quality during the weeks they received massage, and the three weeks following, than did participants that did not receive massage therapy. Another study found that in adults with migraine headaches massage therapy decreased the occurrence of headaches, sleep disturbances and distress symptoms. It also increased serotonin levels, believed to play an important role in the regulation of mood, sleep and appetite.
Because headaches often result from or involve pain referred from problems associated with the bones and muscles in the neck, shoulder, and back, massage focusing on the cervical spine (the vertebrae in the neck behind the skull) can help to relieve headache pain.
Some tension headaches may be relieved by a specific form of massage therapy called trigger point therapy (TrP). Trigger point therapy is the application of pressure to specific points such as along the trapezius muscles (the muscles extending from the base of the skull to mid-back located along the spine) and sternocleidomastoid muscles (muscles on either side of the neck). This pressure interrupts the nerve signals that not only cause the headache pain but also create the trigger point. This therapy aims to relieve pain and to re-educate the muscles so they assume healthy positions and postures that do not generate pain.
Sandy Martinelli, LMT ma50516 mm20187
