“Back pain and muscle aches do not make it possible for me to do my workouts. So I am not able to fore fill my dream, running the New York marathon”.
This is the story of a sporty lady in her mid thirty told me during a get-together. She had been training intensively for her dream, running a marathon, for a number of months. This combined with a busy job and the upbringing of two young children. However, after a workout, she had a lot of trouble in the morning followed by pain in her back and suffering from muscle aches and sore legs and feet. I advised a foot reflex massage. This was something she had never thought of and was also very sceptical about, at first. I gave her my card with the invitation to call me to make an appointment. It took three weeks before she made the appointment.
What happens during running?
In training for running, we immediately think of running schedules, increasing the duration. We invest in good running shoes and a hart rate monitor to assess performance. In addition, many also use a special diet to stimulate muscle build-up. In most of the training sessions, attention to the feet is insufficient. This applies to both beginner runners who charge the feet so intensively for the first time as well as advanced runners. The force that our feet have to carry during running is as many as ten times our body weight.
During running, there is a lot of force on specific places of your feet. The way in which your foot touch the ground and you unroll your foot determines which part of your foot is overloaded. With frequent training, many runners notice that they will suffer from pain in their hips, pelvis, knees or back after running. There may also be problems in the feet caused by lactic acid build up and stiffness. If these disorders are neglected training becomes very difficult.
Removing the built-up tension
By taking enough rest, good nutrition and other exercises, the body is well engaged to break down the tension in the feet and legs. However, when we follow an intensive schedule for realizing a dream and also having family care and a job that involves the necessary stress, the body can use some extra help in stimulating self-healing.
During a foot reflex massage, pressure is applied to points corresponding to organs and joints in our body. By applying pressure to these points, the organs and / or joints are stimulated to release build-up stress and allow the body to balance itself again. Tension has an inhibitory effect on muscle repair, a foot reflex massage helps restore exhaustion and pain. After a foot reflex treatment, an intense sense of relaxation and relief of stress is experienced.
The benefits of a foot reflex massage for runners
- Release of stress and tension
- Accelerate muscle recovery
- Improve blood circulation
- Improve absorption of oxygen and nutrients
- Improve sleep
- Overall relaxation
After two treatments, she noticed the first positive effects of a foot reflex massage. She walked more freely and clearly without disorders. In the run-up to her dream I treated her a total of five times. After successfully completing her first marathon she has continued to run marathons combined with the foot reflex massages. Not only because it has remedied her but also because it is so relaxing.
Do you want to experience the positive effects of foot reflex zone therapy yourself? Contact Saskia Hoeboer of Feet Your Body Leidschendam on phone number +31 (0)6-27 59 21 27 or by e-mail at info@feetyourbody.nl
If you want to stay informed of all developments at Feet Your Body, please subscribe here to the newsletter.