Reflexology For Shoulder or Arm Pain

Sometimes you just can’t stretch, rub, compress, cup, tape or work out that ache in your shoulder nor remember how it came about. I am on a mission to eradicate my forward turned shoulders from years of running and poor posture. I recently have this twinge/ache/pain as you call it that won’t budge. Next, is reflexology which has proven helpful in the past with other issues over the years. Being super active and aging well means that you much look to alternatives to be the most efficient with your time and wellness routines.

In massage school we covered reflexology as well as I trade with a massage therapist that just received training in this modality. I’ve had a reflexology reference book since 2003 and refer to it as needed for myself or others.

Since I didn’t want to purchase pics you will see my own hand and foot images below that will show you the areas to nurture. S is for shoulder and A is for arm. on the hand you can clearly see I wrote the word arm. On the foot the arm is on the outside of the foot near the pinky toe.

Reflexology is a drug-free treatment option for a variety of health problems. It offers a non-intrusive way of expressing love or care for someone. It helps to ease overused, tired feet and hands. It releases endorphines, the body’s “feel-good” chemicals. Reflexology promotes general relaxation. The therapy can be used to maintain good health in a preventative way. It can be used to reduce pain and help to maintain manual dexterity and locomotive abilities.

Caring for the hands…gently puling on the fingers provides a min-vacation for digits compressed throughout the day by tapping on our phones and keyboards. Wringing the hands can also help move the hands in a seldom moved direction.

While it would be great if we most commonly did not walk on hard, unyielding and unforgiving services it’s just not real life. Concrete, asphalt, tile and hard…hard wood floors are everywhere. Yes it’s great to walk barefoot to use your feet muscles for exercise and balance but it’s not padding your feet enough when hard surfaces are the most common factor. I won’t even get into high heels, flat shoes and flip flops as that’s a whole other biomechanics discussion.

I was so glad to see that one of Energy Fitness charter clients that trains with me online said she still has the wooden foot dowel I gave at least 15 years ago to clients as a Christmas present.

How to perform Reflexology on these areas:

For the foot try placing a broom stick on the floor. Hold onto something so you can adjust the pressure as needed by leaning back, forwards or directly over the area. Have a wooden foot roller? Even better and some of them even have ridges. While placing pressing in the arm and shoulder areas try wiggling your toes. You can either roll back and forth (dynamic) or stay in one place and move a little forward or back whilst placing pressure (static). You may feel discomfort so just breathe through it. If it’s just too painful, try placing a towel over the dowel or broomstick. You can use the other foot on top to bend the top of the foot more to the floor if you are able and can tolerate. There are also widely available trigger point balls for the feet. You can also use a golf ball or even your thumb and fingers. While you are rolling these areas go ahead and roll all of the bottoms of both feet to see where else might have tender points.

For the hands you can use a trigger point ball or pointer tool, dowel, golf ball or your other hand. Of course it would be great if you could convince someone else to help you rub these reflexology zones. Stretching the fingers and wrists is also a great follow up to this type of pain management and self-care.

You can do these self-care tips and motions everyday or even twice a day until areas improve then go to one a day and then as needed. Should only take a few minutes for something that can be so beneficial. See if it is worth it!

To improve your health or get some health-based business advice, visit Energy Fitness today.