HANDS & FEET, SO GOOD TO HAVE MASSAGED!
Hand & Feet Massage
Oh, how I love to have my feet and hands massaged, a vital and wonderful part of a massage treatment. I feel very disappointed when they are skimmed over and not given much thought or care.
Did you know for example that your hand has 29 bones, 29 joints, 123 ligaments, 34 muscles moving fingers and thumbs, 48 nerves, 30 arteries….. it’s a complicated part of our body faultlessly designed to carry out many skilful and proficient tasks. Our hand health is vital to our everyday life, people with hand concerns, arthritis for example, have to cope with pain and discomfort just carrying out simple everyday tasks. There are many other disorders and complaints that can potentially be alleviated with massage alongside conventional treatment. I see a lot of clients with RSI and carpal tunnel concerns and a good hand massage with extra care given to manipulating the joints and muscles of the hand can offer relief.
A possible hand routine
Take a moment next time you put hand cream on or some body lotion and spend a few extra moments appreciating your hands. Take a moment to squeeze the hand and wrist with your free hand and work the fingers individually, maybe again squeezing down the length of the finger; it brings an immediate feeling of relaxation. If you have access to your lower arm, of if you are giving a hand massage to someone else, you can also squeeze the muscles of the forearm and glide your hand up towards the elbow. The tendons of the forearm can be quite sore if there are RSI complaints. You will be bringing fresh blood into the muscles, soothing tension and alleviating the discomfort.
The mechanics of the feet are no less complicated than the hand, but they can be neglected. Our general foot health is vital for so many reasons. Our feet carry us about day in day out, bearing our weight and holding us up. Our feet are incredibly sensitive and are just as sophisticated in their ability to move as our hands. If you’ve had children you will recall their lovely little feet as babies, soft and pliable. And once they start to put their feet down you can see how they use their agile toes and feet to explore the ground beneath them.
Unfortunately too many of us spend our days with our feet bound up in shoes, some not always that comfortable; who doesn’t love that feeling at the end of the day to kick your shoes off and release them from the restrictions of shoes?
Feet respond very well to massage, you will need to keep it firm so as not too tickle, one client said to me “Oh, when you got to my feet it’s as if they were saying ‘oh you’ve remembered me’ it feels so good!”.
A possible foot routine
So again, spend a little time massaging your feet, twist the foot and rotate the ankle, try and wiggle your toes individually, not an easy thing to do, but they are an almost direct copy of our hands with the same amount of nerves and tendons, so they should reflect how are fingers work!
I love spreading out my toes and trying to get them to move independently something you should endeavour to practice.
Circle round the ankle bones this brings a real sense of relaxation to the whole foot and the lower leg. Don’t forget the sole of the foot you could make a soft fist and work over the sole of the foot and finish by squeezing the heal.
Just a little time once a week spent doing the above is a quick way to care for your hands and feet and bring you some instant relaxation! Enjoy!