Feet 
Look at all those fabulous feet!
14,000 participated in the 2009 Seattle Marathon each with 2 feet =28,000 feet!
Who is developing blisters? Who ruptured an Achilles tendon? Who sprained their ankle? Who had to be rescued? Nearly all have tired feet at the end of their 26.2 or 13 mile event. Together, they might have been singing *"Ooh my feet, my poor, poor feet". Many runners/walkers were very thankful that I and my colleagues, from the Washington Sports Massage Team, were at the finish line to relieve their aches and help decrease their recovery time.
Treatment and Care of the feet
Massage them (Metamorphic Massage provides a great foot massage)
Bathe them in paraffin bath (request, in advance of your massage, that Nikki prepares the paraffin bath)
Reflexology treatments
Stretch them (walking barefoot and / or making the alphabet in the air with your foot)
Support them (wear good shoes; orthopedics, support pads as needed) Soak them in Epsom salts
Medical care, if needed.
Feet are a marvel of construction
Feet contain 26 bones, 33 joints and a complex network of more than 100 tendons, muscles ligaments, blood vessels and nerves. They are triangular allowing the weight of the body to efficiently spread out over a broad base. Almost all activities require feet and yet so often we pay no attention to the wonderful creation. People put hundreds of tons of pressure on their feet just by walking every day - be they *Walkin' the dog, *Walking the line or *Never walking alone.
Awareness is a valuable asset: (Assessment)
Your footsteps reflect your body's balance.
To see how you are doing walk barefoot in the sand or snow and look at the pattern. Hopefully it is a straight line - the most efficient way to move forward.
Posture: When standing still, do you lean forward or back?
When standing, if it is very easy to pick up your toes then your weight is too much on the heels. On the other hand (or foot) your weight may be too much on your forefoot-both can create back problems. To remedy, stand with your back against a wall and your body weight evenly distributed over the whole foot. Think of being suspended by a string, like a puppet. Attempt to walk with that consciousness. As you do it, just think of the lyrics "everybody's talking about a new way of walkin" from a popular folk song Walk right in.
Problems:
Most people suffer foot problems more than once in their lives. They can range from blisters to bursitis to bunions, or be Achilles tendonitis, Morton's neuroma, Stress fracture, Tarsal tunnel syndrome (similar to Carpal Tunnel syndrome), or plantar fasciitis (see http://www.metamorphicmassage.biz/news.html November/December 2008 Foot pain: Plantar Fasciitis - Running)
Problems occurring in other parts of the body can show up in the feet.
For example a pelvic misalignment can show up in the feet resulting in a weight transfer forcing more stress on one part of the feet.
In foot reflexology areas of the foot correspond to various organs and structures throughout the body so aching feet can be indicative of problems elsewhere.
Learning what is the exact cause of the problem is invaluable. The following professionals can help determine what is the cause of a foot problem: physician, podiatrist, chiropractor, physical therapist, reflexologist, and/or a body worker who knows structural integration.
Several sections of this article were excerpted from the MTJ, winter 2009, Best Foot forward by Joan Milivojevic
Song titles:
- Walkin' the dog, (Shelton Brookes),
- I walk the line (Johnny Cash)
- You'll Never walk alone (from The King and I by Richard Rodgers).
- Ooh my feet, my poor, poor feet" from The Most Happy Fella (musical by Frank Loesser).
