Can a Foot Massage improve your balance?
Balance is something we often take for granted, until that is, we slip and fall on an icy sidewalk. Falls can leave people seriously injured especially those who are getting older. Many factors contribute to fall risk in the elderly. Risk factors can include decreased mobility of the feet and ankle joints and reduced sensory information to and from structures. Accurate sensory inputs and compensatory motor out puts are essential for proper balance. These inputs are based on signals from both cutaneous (skin) inputs and joint inputs. Can we affect those inputs and possibly decrease fall risk?
A study by Vaillant, J., Rouland, A., Martigne, P. et al. showed that a 20 minute session of manual massage of the feet and mobilization of the joints of the ankles and feet significantly improved the one leg balance test in patients aged 65-95 years. For more information visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Any strategy to reduce fall risk, especially in the elderly population is important. Consider this next time someone asks you for a foot massage!
Reference
Vaillant, J., Rouland, A., Martigne, P. et al. Massage and mobilization of the feet and ankles in elderly adults: effect on clinical balance performance. Manual Therapy. 2009; 14.
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