Bunion massage is a simple manual technique designed to produce a reflexive effect on the cervical and lumbar spine (depending on the severity of the pathology) as well as the legs and feet to treat and prevent disease.
Due to the anatomical characteristics of the foot, massage for bunions needs to be performed carefully and without unnecessary manual labor.It can be a general reinforcement, or it can have a direct impact on the deformation zone.
Preparation
Before you start massaging bunions, you need to make initial preparations for massage, which are divided into several stages.
For adults, this is:
- Steam your feet in hot water and add an herbal blend of sage, pine needle extract, chamomile, and oak bark.The medicinal ingredients of the plant can easily penetrate into the heated dermis and have anti-inflammatory and nourishing effects.
- Apply an emollient containing shark oil or laurel oil to the feet and big toe area to warm and nourish the deeper layers of the dermis.
For children with anatomic pathology:
- Rub gently with your palms, then rub firmly (with the ribs of your palms) the cervical spine and lower back;
- Use gentle circular motions to warm up the skin and muscles of the thighs, calves and feet, making them more pliable during the main massage.
Once the technique is complete, the massage session will be comfortable, painless, and more effective.
technology
Despite the general techniques - stroking, rubbing, tapping, pressing, massage of children's valgus feet differs from the treatment of adults.
For children, experts recommend starting from the neck and back; for adults, all operations are directed to the area around the lump, which is characteristic of the pathology (but not to the growth itself), as well as to the feet.
aldult
Bunion massage is performed independently as follows:
- Calculate the area around the protruding joint through circular motions of different intensities;
- Warm up the thumb pads and add small circles to the joints on both sides;
- Use firm grasping and pressing movements, feeling and carefully pressing each finger joint.
Next up is a touchless massage, where you'll need:
- Move your toes up and down;
- Forming a fan shape - the toes spread apart and converge to the sides;
- Grab a small ball with your toes and move it to the side;
- Place your foot on the roller pin and roll with gentle pressure.
Due to increased blood flow, these exercises can relieve inflammation and pain in deformed joints and help strengthen muscles.
among children
Massage on children with bent feet should be performed with extreme caution and only in a lying position to avoid additional stress on the musculoskeletal system:
- Lay the child on their stomach with their legs under the work surface and move the spine up and down, then hold the sides in the direction of the armpits.
- They massage the sacrum and buttocks downward, stroking in circular motions, and they can also massage these areas laterally.
- Massage the surface of the back of the thighs with stroking motions starting at the knees, then knead these areas thoroughly with more vigorous motions.
- Concentrate friction on the flat and everted foot and heel from all directions, then gently shake the skin of the leg area without pinching.
- Each finger in turn is massaged intensively and lightly stretched along its entire length.
- Exercise your feet by moving in a circular motion from your toes to your heels, making a figure-8 shape.
- Turn the child onto their back, place a cushion under the knees, and repeat the exercise on the front surface of the legs.
For bunions in children, in addition to flat feet, when the heel rolls inward or outwards, timely and regular treatment can also provide effective massage.
Contraindications
Massage treatment of planar valgus deformity has the following contraindications:
- any lower extremity disease during exacerbation;
- General malaise associated with systemic illness;
- malignant tumors;
- cardiovascular system problems;
- Varicose veins.
In addition, people with unstable blood pressure and fragile blood vessels should massage with caution.
Self-massage for bunions can only be performed when the condition is not serious or complicated.
In other cases, these simple and affordable massage techniques will help relieve discomfort, restore muscle tone, normalize blood flow, and eliminate problems as part of a comprehensive treatment.