Massage Therapy Journal Spring 2024

66 • Massage Therapy Journal

The Ankle Alphabet For clients experiencing foot and ankle pain, or for those recovering from an injury, one of the best self-care routines is the ankle alphabet. The exercise is simple according to Dorothea Atkins, ThD, MA,

exercise as effective as possible, focus on making the letters as large as possible while still only moving the ankle. Looping an exercise band around the foot and holding it with your hands can add extra resistance to the exercise. The exercise helps to stretch out the muscles around the ankle, improve the range of motion of the ankle joint, and help build foot and ankle strength, which, in turn, can help an individual’s balance. “The ankle alphabet releases muscles of the lower leg and prevents foot and/or toe cramping,” Atkins adds.

DSN, LMT. “One foot at a time, create the alphabet in capital letters,” she says. To do this, just imagine your big toe is a pen you’re using to write out each letter in the air. This exercise can be done either sitting on the floor with a rolled up towel under your calf or while sitting in a chair while straightening your leg out. To make the

interventions on muscle-related symptoms (including cramping and RLS) in hemodialysis patients. The analysis concluded non pharmacological therapies like massage may help manage muscle-related symptoms and should be considered for both their beneficial effects and because they’re practical, well tolerated and easily integrated into a treatment plan. Foot Massage: More Than Meets the Eye For most people (and some massage therapists), it’s easy to forget how important our feet are— until they begin to hurt. But, research is showing that foot massage can be effective in helping reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure and reduce generalized pain. For example, one study 6 evaluated the effects of foot massage on relieving pain and anxiety for patients receiving anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). The study enrolled patients who had undergone ACDF and had been diagnosed with anxiety disorder at least six months before the surgery. Participants received a daily 10-minute foot massage for four weeks, and outcomes measured included the neck pain visual analog pain scale,

Foot massage can be effective in helping reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure and reduce generalized pain.

Africa Studio / SpicyTruffel / Shutterstock.com

amtamassage.org/mtj