Massage Therapy is a preventative means of care for your body. It’s a regulated health care profession that treats the soft tissues of your body (muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and fascia). A massage therapy treatment involves applying pressure, kneading and manipulation of soft tissues to improve your well-being. It can help alleviate every day stress on your muscles, physical manifestations of mental distress and many pain associated conditions.

Helpful Tip: How to minimize foot pain and discomfort when transitioning to warmer weather

With spring coming, most of use will start to wear sandals, flip flops and other open toed shoes as the weather warms up outside. When we go from wearing close toed footwear to sandals and flip flops, we tend to experience foot pain or discomfort. Sometimes it’s just an adjustment period and it will go away, but other times it’s from the lack of support our spring/summer shoes might offer us.

To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that we don’t use our flip flops or slides for when we are walking around for a long period of time, including grocery shopping. Wear a sandal that isn’t as thin or flat to help support your feet when doing errands or going for a walk.

What to do if your feet are sore?

If you experience foot pain or discomfort, here’s a few things you could try to help reduce it.

1. Roll the bottom of your feet with a tennis ball or golf ball for a few minutes 2-3 times a week. You can do this while you are at your desk working or watching TV on the couch. This may help break up the fascia as well as assist releasing the tension in the tendons and ligaments on the bottom of your feet.

2. Stretching your calf muscles (back of your lower leg, below your knee) to help realign and elongate the muscles fibers. It will also have an indirect affect on loosening the tendons on the bottom of your feet. Stand close to a wall. Rest the ball of your foot on the wall. Rest your hands on the wall in front of you for balance. Lean into the wall with your hips like you are walking until you feel a slight pull on your calf. Hold for a minimum of 30 seconds or until you stop feeing the pull during your stretch.

3. Warm to hot epsom salt foot bath for 15-20 minutes. This may help loosen the soft tissues in your foot. Get a bin big enough for your feet to rest comfortably, fill with water that is a tolerable temperature for you and add 1⁄2-3/4 cup of Epsom salts.

4. Get shoes that don’t have a thin, flat boot bed for you to walk on. You want a sandal/shoe that will provide you with some cushion and support for your feet throughout your day.

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