Deep Massage Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

Posted by Marguerite | May 19, 2017 .

Foot pain is not cool!

Guest writer from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine

Plantar fasciitis is the most common pain on the bottom heel of your foot with approximately two million patients getting treated for it every year. Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation, irritation or tear of the group of ligaments that connect your toe and ankle through the bottom of your foot. It can occur because of excessive strain on the ligaments from physical activity and even improper footwear. Luckily there are several ways to help treat and even prevent plantar fasciitis from occurring before surgery is need to repair the ligaments.

When you start to feel pain along your plantar fascia ligament, the easiest thing to do is stop participating in the physical activity that is causing the discomfort. You can also make sure your footwear is providing you with proper arch support and cushion for your activity. This may cause your shoe to be stiffer, but providing proper support will help reduce pain. Icing the area for a quarter of an hour as well as massaging the calf and Achilles heel area can offer comfort.

Once you have made the initial recovery from plantar fasciitis, you should seek a more aggressive treatment to help prevent the reoccurance of the pain. This can include deep tissue massage as well as taping of the area. Deep tissue massage concentrates on applying firm finger pressure to the plantar fascia, Achilles heel and calf muscles. This type of massage concentrates on specific sore areas and has been shown to have definite results in a couple of days.

Deep tissue massages will loosen the muscle tissues, break up scar tissue, remove muscle toxins and help improve blood and oxygen circulation affected by the plantar fasciitis. These massages work, because they physically break down the adhesions that formed in the muscle tissue by overexertion and strain.

People who have a history of blood clots should not participate in deep tissue massage, because the clots can be displaced and flow to areas causing greater problems. Open wounds or prior surgery in the area will also keep you from enjoying a deep tissue massage.

If you want to learn more about how deep tissue massage therapy can improve your overall health and help you reduce pain, check out this article by the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.

Read past blog posts on Plantar fasciitis:

http://www.motherknowsbest.net/index.php?s=plantar+fasciitis