Ashiatsu Massage: Putting Feet to Work to Relax Your Back
Daily life, our posture and our routines can be awful on our backs. You may experience aches and pains that only increase day by day. When such problems persist, it can begin to have a detrimental impact on your livelihood, as it can sap your energy and become mentally draining when you think about dealing with the pain for another day.
For decades, the art of massage has been proven to give relief to a person’s body. The strokes along the muscles can loosen tension, improve posture and help with blood flow. There are a range of massage techniques available and most rely on the hands to provide the massage process, but there is another technique that uses the feet for the treatment. This technique is called Ashiatsu massage.
What is Ashiatsu Massage?
Ashiatsu is a barefoot massage technique that requires the therapist to use their feet instead of their hands to perform the massage. A therapist will have a person lay face down on a massage table. The therapist will use ropes, bars, stools or benches to balance themselves above the client. Then the therapist will use their feet to give strokes across the client’s body. The gravity and pressure allow the therapist to provide deep, long strokes over the body. Often oils, creams or lotions will be applied to the body prior to the Ashiatsu massage technique to further release the tension in muscles and to provide a more satisfying experience.
The Benefits of Ashiatsu Massage
Ashiatsu massage is a deep tissue technique used to provide pressure on the muscles to help elongate them. Since the therapist’s foot is broader than the hand as they are using their weight and pressure to target muscles, it provides wider strokes without causing enduring pain. In addition, the deep tissue technique can help improve blood circulation while relieving stress and aches that can cause muscle spasms.
Another area of the body that benefits from Ashiatsu massage are the lumbar nerves. The nerves along the lumbar region can gain more space when the foot pressure opens up and elongates the spinal region. Lastly, Ashiatsu massage allows the client’s body to have a freer range of motion and better posture with more relaxed muscles.
Learn More About Ashiatsu Massage
Not everyone should try Ashiatsu massage due to the added weight and pressure that is applied to the body with this deep tissue foot technique. Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should avoid this treatment. In addition, people with high blood pressure, advanced diabetes, a compromised immune system, acute kidney and liver conditions, are using certain medications, or had surgical implant surgery recently should also be aware of the dangers of Ashiatsu massage. If you have these conditions, speak with a therapist before obtaining treatment.