17 Awesome Benefits of Foot Massage [2022]

 Introduction

The Benefits of foot massage are diverse. A study conducted in different locations shows that Foot massage was found to prompt a decrease in stress in healthy undergraduate students, women with postpartum depression, and middle-aged women.

Another study conducted in Delhi, India in 2014 to assess the effectiveness of foot massage on pain among patients after abdominal surgery shows that foot massage was more effective in decreasing pain in patients after abdominal surgery and can be used by nurses as an easy and cheap method for treating postoperative pain with no adverse effects in addition to the pharmacological method.

Do you want to find out more? read on our articles as follows.

Foot massage reduces stress

There are two scenarios on how foot massage helps individuals to reduce stresses.

Scenario one:

Cortisol is a stress hormone found in our body. It causes all sorts of havoc in our body, especially, when there is fear and tension, there is an increasing level of heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate.

Cortisol, also called hydrocortisone, is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the Adrenal cortex upon stimulation by ACTH/ Adreno Cortico- Trophin Hormone/ that mediates various metabolic processes (as gluconeogenesis).

It has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties, and whose levels in the blood may become elevated in response to physical or psychological stresses.

Firm pressure on the solar plexus region of the foot is said to encourage a drop in the body’s stress hormone, called cortisol. Decrease in stress is good progress to humans, to think critically, concentrate and do their daily activities without anxiety, worry, confusion, and mess up.

Scenario two:

Foot massage, around the solar plexus, activates our nervous system. in our body, we have three kinds of nerve integrations, these are, the peripheral nervous system, the Autonomous nervous system, and the central nervous system.

The brain and spinal cord are parts of the central nervous system. In the brain, there are chemical substances called, hormones and endorphins.

When these chemical substances called hormones get stimulated through foot massage, the release of endorphins increases, which in turn results in increases in happiness/ feel good/.

Endorphins are any group of endogenous peptides found especially in the brain that bind chiefly to opiate, such as morphine or codeine used to reduce pain or cause sleep receptors and produce some sort of pharmacological effects.

By eating chocolate, we can also activate endorphins. As endorphins act as happiness hormones, they can reduce pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. Endorphins are circulating all over our body systems, especially in the brain, and bring happiness, calmness as well as muscle relaxation.

Reduce Anxiety

Humans experience a sense of anxiety throughout their life. There are different circumstances that cause anxiety.

Given that we have already said above how foot massage can decrease stress, increases endorphins, provide a sense of closeness, and assist with pain management, it should come as no surprise that foot massage also helps to relieve the feeling of anxiety.

In fact, foot massage can’t cure anxiety. Instead, People should better go and seek care and treatment from their healthcare providers.

But, the use of foot massage to relieve both acute and chronic anxiety has much to recommend. 1 in 5 people will suffer from a mental illness in their lifetime, with two of the most common problems being anxiety and depression.

Foot massage gives us an alternate therapy that can work alongside medicine and drug therapy to address the multiple causes of mental illness.

 Reduce depression

Anxiety and depression occur together. A person who experiences mental illness is also at high risk of developing depression. Depression is mostly associated with psychological, social, cultural, and physical phenomenon.

Above; on Anxiety, we have seen that foot massage can influence us physically and psychologically. The same is true for Depression. It has been seen that foot massage can reduce postpartum depression and other associated conditions. To learn more about the benefits of foot massage, Click Here.

When we look at the effect of foot massage on both anxiety and depression, and its influence on a decrease in stress, social bonding, and increase in endorphins, it is plausible that foot massage is a useful tool to reduce both anxiety and depression.

As depression is multifaceted and complicated, foot massage can address both biological and social triggers for depression, it presents a useful tool to help in the management of this condition.

 Increases Blood flow

Due to a mostly sedentary lifestyle, we become unaccustomed to using our muscles on a regular basis. The muscles in the feet get hardly any exercise, and circulation is often impaired by tight and uncomfortable shoes.

A 10–20-minute foot massage session before going to bed can greatly improve circulation in the lower extremities, which is particularly important for people suffering from diabetes.

Maintain healthy blood pressure

Blood pressure is influenced by many factors including stress, heart rate, and blood volume, and foot massage can benefit them all.

While not a be-all and end-all, it can be useful in managing underlying causes of high blood pressure.

Maintain a healthy heart rate

Foot massage benefits in the area of heart rate – it helps keep it within normal levels. This, in turn, assists the body in maintaining its normal equilibrium and decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

 Reduce pain

Pain can be caused as a result of different causes, physical, neural, or psychological. Often it combines many of these elements, making a difficult condition to treat

Improves sense of balance and well being

A foot massage can help to relax the whole body, help you to sleep better, and leave you with rejuvenated energy to bring to your day.

Reduce Tension headaches and migraines

Headaches and migraines can be caused due to different factors. Incidents like infections, tiredness, stress and other illnesses can cause headaches and migraines. sometimes, the cause of migraines and headaches could also be idiopathic. To read more on the benefits of foot massage, Click Here.

The approach is the same as we soothe stress and others. Sometimes, headaches and migraine can also be treated by painkiller drugs, but, it doesn’t work always.

Research has found that foot massage can decrease the severity and length of headaches and migraines. This is of particular importance – because it provides relief to the sufferer.

While foot massage does not provide the cure for these afflictions, it does help us in two ways. Firstly, it helps manage some of the causes of migraines and headaches, and secondly, it’s been shown to decrease the severity and length of these migraines and headaches, giving other coping methods a chance to work.

 Reduce edemas in pregnant women

During pregnancy, 80% of women experience edema. Edema is the swelling of the legs, ankles, and upper sides of the foot. Edema may also occur in other parts.

Edema can also be happening as a result of long-standing or sitting. In pregnancy, this can come as a result of increased hormonal levels of the hormone relaxin, in the body.

Actually, our body retains fluids and circulates blood to the lower extremity. Here, foot massage plays a big role in relieving and soothing these edematous parts.

 Relieve Digestive disorders/ acid indigestion/

This disorder is expressed in terms of nausea and vomiting. Actually, nausea and vomiting result from stomach annoyance. In which, this in turn comes as a result of infection, pain, and other related factors.

Activation of dopamine receptors/ related to stress/, activation of the vagus nerve, and upset of the inner ear/motion sickness/ all can cause nausea and vomiting.

Here, massaging the foot has a direct effect on soothing these disorders. If left untreated, nausea and vomiting could cause serious health problems.

Foot massage can provide a way to help control and manage these symptoms, which in turn leads to a better quality of life for those who experience these symptoms.

Benefits to the skin of our feet

Foots are parts of our body that are under heavy pressure. We stand a long time with our feet, we walk with the help of our feet, when we carry heavy weighted equipment’s, all the pressure rests on our feet. On long-standing, our feet may also swell up. To learn more on foot massage, Click Here.

A study conducted on Thai foot massage found that the act of massage increased both temperature and blood flow to the connective tissue below the skin.

Foot massage provides many other benefits to the tissues and muscles of our body – such as increased blood flow and increased lymphatic drainage. Foot massage can also assist people who suffer from swelling of the feet.

A study conducted found that a significant decrease in swelling in the leg was observed following three months of foot massage. This can generally be attributed to increased lymphatic drainage and increased blood flow.

As mentioned before, these two aspects, working together control the water balance of our body. Swelling in the feet, known medically as edema, results from an imbalance in water drainage.

Foot massage can also decrease the appearance of scarring – one study found that in Korean burns victims, skin pliability, circulation, and appearance improved following three months of foot massage.

 Reduce muscle soreness

It is already known that we exert high pressure on our muscles while we are walking a long distance, running a run, doing exercises, and carrying heavy weight materials.

All these combined together, have their own effects on our muscles. Muscles become sore as a result of these heavy pressures. Moreover, when we think of foot massage, our first intention is to relieve these causes of muscle soreness. to read more about how to do foot massage, Click Here.

Massage, by definition, is the process of pressing the muscles and connective tissues of our skin to relieve pain, tension and enhance relaxation.

While some forms of foot massage, such as reflexology, look to influence other parts of the body parts through dispelling tension in the feet, the fact of the matter is that massage aims to use touch to improve the patient’s quality of life through manipulation of tissues.

By decreasing the amount of pain that results from using our muscles, foot massage helps us for rapid recovery and rehabilitation.

 decrease Arthritis/Joint pains/

Like muscle soreness, joint pain is one of the main complaints people seek for foot massage or medical help. Joint pain can come as a result of infection, inflammation, injury, and muscle stiffness.

Foot massage focuses on areas of high tension. By relaxing the muscles around the joints, and massaging the connective tissue that holds these joints in place, foot massage can provide us relief.

Given that joint pain can be further exacerbated by muscles stiffness, the ability of foot massage to loosen tension for stiff muscles is of particular interest.

By loosening these stiffness’s in the surrounding tissue, the tension is taken off of the joints and decreases some of the pain felt due to the inflammation of the tissues in the joints.

Relieve Insomnia/sleepless/

Insomnia is the inability to sleep/sleepless/. This disorder can be caused due to different causes. To mention some, stress, depression, pain, drugs like caffeine, and nicotine.

it can also be caused due to unknown others. It is crystal clear that, if foot massage soothes stress, depression, and the others mentioned, the same is for insomnia.

Foot massage addresses many of the causes of insomnia, helping to prevent the problem of not being able to sleep in the first place. To read more on foot reflexology, Click Here.

It also presents an immediate sense of calm and being cared for – both things that prompt sleep. Properly applied pressure on the points of the solar plexus can improve the pattern of sleep.

Helps to restore Injury

Injuries can be caused due to different accidents. If left untreated, injuries have a debilitating effect on our day-to-day activities as well as in the long run.

Rehabilitating, restoring to their normal strength, and soothing these injuries is mandatory. Here, foot massage helps in all the way we need to get back to recovery.

As we’ve already seen above, foot massage helps address many ailments that make rehabilitation difficult – pain, stress, muscle soreness, joint stiffness, and fatigue.

It also assists in areas of depression and anxiety, conditions that also often afflict those who are working through injuries. Injuries are never pleasant, and their recovery period can often stretch into weeks or months.

Foot massage offers a way of assisting with that recovery, both by addressing things that make recovery difficult and also by addressing immediate problems of tension in the feet and legs.

To relieve symptoms of post-menopausal (PMS)

50% of women suffer menopausal symptoms. Menopause symptoms include anxiety, tension, headache, sadness, unhappiness irritability, insomnia, and fatigue.

As we have mentioned above, most of these signs and symptoms can be alleviated via foot massage. This is achieved by the effects of reflex points that, produce influences somewhere else in their corresponding organs or systems.

In general. foot massage benefits our body in different ways. in fact, foot massage gives some sort of local and corresponding distal benefits.

mainly, it reduces pain, soothes stress, and heightens body relaxations, and all these combined results in an enhanced health and well-being as well as improved quality of life.

having this all, if you have any questions, suggestions, please leave a comment.