Our feet often bear the brunt of our weight as much as our knees and ankles and if you’ve been standing or walking for hours, sooner or later your feet will hurt or get tired by the time you got home. Unfortunately, most of us don’t pay much attention to our feet even though they are the ones that help keep us mobile and standing upright. As much as we would like to go and get a foot spa to pamper our tired feet, the cost may not be ideal for our budget. The good news is that even a simple foot massage can do wonders for your tired feet especially when you massage them before you go to bed.
What other benefits can you gain from massaging your feet? Here are some of its advantages.
Boost blood circulation. One of the secrets to good health is having your blood flowing properly. If it is restricted in any way, your body won’t be receiving enough oxygen which can compromise your health such as cause your blood pressure to spike, heart problems, and even kidney problems just to name a few. By massaging your feet, you will be able to help improve blood flow.
Works as natural pain reliever. Massaging your feet can give you relief from fatigue but did you know that it can also relieve you from other aches and pain? A study that was published in the Pain Management Nursing journal for 2004 reported that those post-operative patients showed significant improvement in their condition when their hands and feet were massaged as opposed to those who just used medication for the pain. To get the best results, you can use essential oils that have anti-inflammatory properties to quickly alleviate the swelling.
Alleviates restless leg syndrome (RLS). If you are suffering from RLS or restless leg syndrome, you know full well how this condition can affect your sleep. Giving your feet a good massage before bed time can alleviate this condition so you will have better chances of getting up to eight hours of quality sleep.
Reduces high blood pressure or hypertension. Another benefit to giving yourself foot massage is that it reduces your risk of high blood pressure. It is because massaging your feet can help make your blood flow better.
Improve relaxation. Nothing can beat the feeling of relief when you give your feet a massage before going to bed especially when you had a very long day at work. Having someone give your tired feet a good massage with all the kneading, pulling, and pinching can help you relax and drift off to sleep too.
Treat swollen legs. The body can retain fluids from time to time. This usually occurs when you are pregnant or when you have been sitting or standing for several hours. Giving your feet a good massage can help reduce the swelling significantly. You can also combine this treatment with drinking tea that can reduce swelling.
Improve sleep. Aside from RLS, there are other factors that can compromise the quality of your sleep. There is stress, medication, late nights, insomnia, and others. With that being said, one way to get you relaxed and slip into sleep is to give your feet a good massage. Massaging your feet can help release tension in your body. This puts you in a more relaxed state which is what you should be in to get the kind of sleep that you deserve.
As you can see, there is more to just relieving the aches and pains in your feet when you give your feet a good foot massage. The benefits mentioned above are just a few that you should know about.
