As the saying goes, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" and "a crane with a beautiful face and a light step". All these words illustrate the importance of foot health. As early as Huangdi Neijing, the theoretical principle of foot health care was discussed. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used foot massage to achieve the purpose of treating diseases and protecting health. Foot massage affects the whole body and regulates the functions of various organs of the body by exerting pressure on the surface of the foot.
Feet are closely related to the viscera and meridians of the whole body and bear all the weight of the body, so some people call it the "second heart" of human beings. It is observed that the relationship between the foot and the whole is similar to that of a fetus lying flat on the palm of its foot. The head is facing the heel, the buttocks are facing the toes, and the viscera are distributed in the middle of the plantar surface. According to the above principles and laws, stimulating foot points can regulate the whole body function and treat visceral diseases. Human anatomy also shows that there are more blood vessels and nerves on the foot than other parts, and countless nerve endings have special connections with the head, hands and various tissues and organs inside the body. So many diseases can be treated by simple foot massage.
One of the commonly used methods of foot massage is called single food boxing, which stimulates the relevant parts with the joints of the index finger. It is mainly used on the soles of feet, because according to the distribution of reflex zones of feet, there are many visceral reflex zones in the soles of feet, which must be strong to play an effective stimulating role. The inside of the foot and the surface of the foot are periosteum, so it is necessary to stimulate it gently, not too much, which is easy to hurt the periosteum.
Five reflex zones must be selected for foot massage and health care: the first reflex zone is the celiac plexus; The second reflex zone is the spleen; The third reflex zone is the kidney; The fourth reflex zone is ureter; The fifth reflex zone is the bladder. These five reflection areas are the five reflection areas that must be strengthened at the beginning or end of massage.
When doing foot massage, it should vary from person to person and be used flexibly. When pressing this part, it should be moderately stimulated continuously, preferably with normal tenderness. It should be concentrated in the most sensitive tender part of the reflex zone. When visceral diseases occur, there will be a feeling of acupuncture in the reflex zone corresponding to both feet. In addition, when doing foot massage, keep the room quiet, clean and ventilated. Before massage, wash your feet with warm water to relax. Before massaging each acupoint and pathological reflex zone, the pain points of acupuncture-like reflex should be measured so as to be targeted. Patients should drink a cup of warm water within 30 minutes after massage, which is beneficial to the circulation of qi and blood, so as to achieve good massage effect.
In winter, the business of foot bath and foot massage is obviously booming. In the cold season, soaking feet with hot water can not only warm the whole body, but also relax muscles and tendons. Recently, however, this kind of news is often seen in newspapers: some people did not go to regular hospitals to ask professionals for massage, but were only massaged by "massage women" without medical qualifications. In the end, they not only failed to achieve the purpose of treatment and health care, but injured the ligament. Massage has a good effect on relieving muscle tension, but improper operation can also cause the above problems. Remind people who like massage to go to regular institutions and ask people with certain medical knowledge to operate, so as to achieve the purpose of health care.
Careful foot massage
Soaking your feet with hot water in winter and doing foot massage are very beneficial to your health. Due to the cold weather in winter, the human body is prone to various discomforts caused by low temperature, such as blood stasis, cold muscle soreness, cold hands and feet caused by poor circulation of nerve endings, stomach cold pain and so on. If you can persist in soaking your feet with hot water, it will have a good health care effect on your body, promote blood circulation, relieve cold hands and feet, dilate capillaries, and promote blood supply to your brain to some extent. If possible, you can soak your feet in hot water for 20 minutes before going to bed every night, and the effect will be better. At the same time, I also remind you to soak your feet with hot water before doing foot massage, because this can speed up blood circulation, relax muscles and ligaments and avoid injury during massage.
In addition, you must be careful when doing foot massage. Because there are more than 60 reflex zones on one foot, the main organs of the human body, such as heart, liver, kidney, stomach, spleen, eyes, ears, nose and so on. There are corresponding reflection areas on the feet. If the massage intensity is appropriate, the discomfort of the corresponding organs can be alleviated by stimulating the reflex zone, but if the massage technique is improper, it will also affect the health of these organs. Professionally trained doctors can know which organs are uncomfortable by naked eye observation and touching the soles of their feet, and will consciously improve these discomfort during massage. For example, by observing the color of the sole of the foot, the hardness of the tissue under the skin, and the degree of pain when pressing, we can judge whether the corresponding reflex zone is normal. However, without specialized medical knowledge, anatomy, physiology, pathology and corresponding clinical experience, it is difficult to judge whether the corresponding organs of the body are healthy through the changes of the soles of the feet, and if there are problems, they will not be consciously adjusted during massage.
The harder, the better.
Nowadays, many people have a wrong understanding of massage: the greater the intensity, the more effective it is. In fact, the massager should feel a little sore, but it can bear it completely, and will not feel flustered, dizzy and disgusting. , which is the best strength. If it is too light, it will have no therapeutic effect. If it is too heavy, it will cause other injuries, such as ligaments, muscles, fascia and other tissues, and may be injured because of too much massage. In addition, if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. It may also lead to the recurrence of these diseases because of excessive force. Nowadays, many people are willing to ask their families to help them massage when they feel tight or sore all over. Dr. Qu said that massage should not be too hard, but light, which can relax muscles and promote blood circulation. But be sure to pay attention, such as massaging the soles of your feet. It is difficult for people without professional knowledge to find the correct reflection area accurately. If the force is too large, there will be adverse reactions, such as fascia inflammation, dizziness, nausea, palpitation, arrhythmia and so on. If the intensity is light, it has no effect on the reflection area. This principle also applies to full-body massage. If the intensity is not great, it can relax and promote blood circulation even if the acupoints are not found accurately. However, if the force is too large, it is likely to damage the nerves in the waist and neck, and there will be adverse reactions such as numbness in the hands and feet. If the neck is damaged, you will feel dizzy, nausea, blurred vision, shoulder discomfort, and even affect the spinal cord and cause paralysis; If the waist is damaged, there will be pain, numbness and even paralysis in the lower limbs. Dr. Qu reminded that gentle massage can play a certain health care role, but if you want to treat some diseases by massage, scraping and cupping, you must find a professional doctor.
Some diseases are not suitable for massage
Although massage can treat many diseases, including internal and external diseases, maternal and child diseases, there are also some situations that are not suitable for massage. If you suffer from acute injury, local edema, local inflammation, fracture, breakage and other open injuries, as well as serious diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and renal failure, don't try massage easily.