Back pain is experienced by eight out of ten people in their lifetime. For many of these, back pain is chronic and causes incredible discomfort day in and day out. For those people looking for natural relief, reflexology can be helpful. It is a non-invasive treatment choice that could prevent you from needing to have surgery. Reflexology has several techniques for treating back pain.
Foot Reflexology Techniques for Back Pain
Here are a few techniques that may be used in helping to ease discomfort and pain. You may even like to try yourself. Before you begin, you need to become better acquainted with the pressure points on the feet or hands. Take the time to read a reflexology chart, or better still, keep one handy so you can more easily find the specific points while you perform the following techniques:
1 – Sit with your back straight and hold one foot in your hands. Look and feel between your big toe and second toe for the bone that joins both these toes. Place your thumb on the area and begin to apply pressure.
Apply pressure for a minute, and remember to breathe steadily. Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly; don’t hold your breath. After a minute, decrease the applied pressure and use your thumb to gently rub the area. Now repeat the process on the other foot.
2 – Use your thumb to apply pressure to the area that’s located just beneath the base of your toes, near the ball of your foot. Apply the pressure first to the sole of your foot and then on the top portion of your foot, again just behind your toes.
While working on the sole, apply firm pressure to reach the specific pressure points. The points for the shoulders and upper back are located on the top section of the feet. However, these areas need lighter pressure applied as they are more sensitive and the bones can be felt more easily. The pressure is only needed on the muscle tissue; you don’t want to apply excessive pressure on the small bones.
3 – The pressure point for the inner hip is located under and behind the ankles. Find that specific place where you can feel a slight indentation under your ankle. Before massaging this area, apply lotion or massage oil first to reduce friction and to prevent the skin from becoming irritated. Apply pressure and massage with back and forth movements.
Do this for less than a minute, up to 30 seconds is enough, and repeat up to four times a day. If you accidentally massage certain nerves near this inner hip reflex point, you may feel a mild shock. If you do get a jump, simply reduce your pressure and massage the area for less than 15 seconds.
Back pain can also be relieved by performing hand reflexology. To reach the pressure points that involve your spine, use your thumb to apply pressure along the outside edges of the palm. You can perform this yourself by working first on the left hand and then switch to the right hand to complete the process.
There are other areas on the hands and feet where reflexology can be applied to relieve sciatica and lower and upper back pain.
