Plantar Fasciitis - When Massaging your Foot isn't Enough

Painful, burning feet when you first get up can be a sure sign of plantar fasciitis. This is when the connective tissue in the foot, or fascia is aggravated enough to become inflamed, tight and full of scar tissue. Prolonged standing, shoes that need more support, or running can all be a contributing factor to this foot pain. Even though the pain is coming from that inflamed and tightened fascia of the bottom of the foot, solving involves working with the lower leg as well.

Why the lower leg?

Let’s back up for a minute and talk about fascia. Fasci connects throughout the body. It moves in between layers of muscles and throughout muscle fibers as well. Even though our idea of the body is very compartmentalized by areas, i.e. leg, foot, fascial pull and muscles themselves overlap areas. Tight muscles and tight fascia will pull into other areas. So tightness in the calf can pull fascially into the bottom of the foot. Without releasing it you will never get at the root cause or just the total affected area of the problem.

Muscles, Knots and Referred Pain

Deep muscles in the lower leg also extend directly to bones on the bottom of the foot, these can affect the fascia on the bottom of the foot as well. Besides the actual attachment sites, there may be referral pain from trigger points, or knots that you can feel in your feet. For example, a knot in tibialis anterior (a muscle on the front of your shin) can refer into the big toe on your foot. So even though the physical knot is in the front of the lower leg, you will feel pain or discomfort or burning in your big toe

The most successful combination of massage that I have found to help people with plantar fasciitis is a combination of myofascial release and neuromuscular therapy. Both of these are deep tissue approaches, focusing on the fascia and specific attachment sites of deep muscles.

The importance of Ice when treating inflammation

The pain associated with this condition is from inflammation of tissue. Ice is the best way to reduce inflammation, combined with massage and stretching you’ll be back on your feet in no time!

Neuromuscular Thearpy 101 (NMT)

What Is Neuromuscular Therapy?

Overview
Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) is a very specialized form of manual massage therapy. An NMT therapist is educated in the physiology of the nervous system and its effect on the muscular and skeletal systems. The Neuromuscular Therapist also is educated in kinesiology and biomechanics and the functioning of the human nervous system.

By definition, Neuromuscular Therapy is the utilization of static pressure on specific myofascial points to relieve pain. This technique manipulates the soft tissue of the body (muscles, tendons and connective tissue) to balance the central nervous system. In a healthy individual, nerves transmit impulses (which are responsible for every movement, function and thought) to the body very slowly. Injury, trauma, postural distortion or stress cause nerves to speed up their transmission, inhibiting equilibrium and making the body vulnerable to pain and dysfunction. Neuromuscular Therapy massage works to stabilize low levels of neurological activity to maintain normal function and overall health.

Neuromuscular Therapy will be used to address five elements that may be causing you pain:

1. Ischemia: Lack of blood supply to soft tissues which causes hypersensitivity to touch


2. Trigger Points: Highly irritated points in muscles which refer pain to other parts of the body


3. Nerve Compression or Entrapment: Pressure on a nerve by soft tissue, cartilage or bone


4. Postural Distortion: Imbalance of the muscular system resulting from the movement of the body off the longitudinal and horizontal planes


5. Biomechanical Dysfunction: Imbalance of the musculoskeletal system resulting in faulty movement patterns (i.e., poor lifting habits, bad mechanics in a golf swing of tennis stroke, computer keyboarding)

Neuromuscular Massage Therapy Technique

Neuromuscular therapy consists of alternating levels of concentrated pressure on the areas of muscle spasm. The massage therapy pressure is usually applied with the fingers, knuckles, or elbow. Once applied to a muscle spasm, the pressure should not vary for ten to thirty seconds.

Massage Therapy Can Reduce Muscle Pain
Muscles that are in spasm will be painful to the touch. The pain is caused by ischemic muscle tissue. Ischemia means the muscle is lacking proper blood flow, usually due to the muscle spasm. This in turn creates a situation where muscle is not receiving enough blood or enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen causes the muscle to produce lactic acid, making the muscle feel sore following physical activity. After the muscle is relaxed through massage therapy, the lactic acid will be released from the muscle, and the muscle should start receiving enough blood and oxygen.

Neuromuscular therapy may feel unfamiliar or even slightly painful at first, but the pressure of the massage should alleviate the muscle spasm. At this point, it is extremely important to communicate with the massage therapist regarding the pressure - whether the pressure is too much, too little, getting better, getting worse. The therapist will listen and respond accordingly.

What to Expect After Neuromuscular Massage Therapy
Following a neuromuscular therapy massage, any soreness that presents itself should fade after twenty-four to thirty-six hours. The muscles that were tight should remain noticeably more relaxed for four to fourteen days, depending on stress, activity level, and severity of back pain prior to beginning massage therapy.

Click on this link for the massage therapists at Balance Massage Therapy who are certified in NMT.

Voted "Best Place For Therapeutic Massage In Ann Arbor" 2011, Balance Massage Therapy believes that massage should be affordable, accessible and adaptable. Opened in 2008 by Josie Ann Lee and Christin Draybuck, Balance has won numerous awards including "Best New Business in Ann Arbor 2010". Whether you are looking to relax, get relief from an injury or improve your overall wellness, Balance’s massage therapists are committed to one thing: helping you Find Balance. With 15 therapists specialize in the therapeutic approach to massage therapy, BMT is known as Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Canton, Plymouth and Saline's number one place for massage therapy.