How to do self-massage of the legs, abdomen and other parts of the body at home
A professional massage therapist, working with a client, is based solely on his own experience and tactile sensations when pressed. And you yourself, having mastered the techniques of self-massage, will be able to perform it as your body requires, strengthening or weakening contact with the skin and muscles at will.
Contraindications to any type of massage are fever and any skin diseases.
Basic self-massage techniques
Massage, increasing blood circulation and lymph flow in the massaged area, improves metabolism, removes toxins, as well as faster burning of fat in it. The most feasible for each person is self-massage of accessible areas of the body with their hands, and poorly accessible areas with the help of special massagers (vibration massage, hydromassage).
The main methods of self-massage include:
- trituration
- kneading
- pat
- tapping
- rolling
- twitching or tingling
All self-massage techniques can be either a separate procedure or carried out in between gymnastic exercises. Movements with any of the methods of self-massage should be made in the direction of the flow of blood and lymph:
1 Hands are massaged towards the armpit.
2 Legs – to the popliteal and inguinal regions.
3 Chest – from the sternum to the sides to the armpits.
4 Back – from the spine to the sides.
5 Neck – from the hairline down to the collarbones.
An indicator of a well-conducted self-massage is a slight reddening and warming of the skin.
How to do self-massage of the legs, abdomen and other parts of the body
The following describes how to properly self-massage the legs, abdomen, chest, buttocks and other parts of the body at home:
1 Hand massage. Standing, alternately rub your hands with your hands. Repeat 4-10 times.
2 Massage of the forearm. Before doing self-massage of the forearms, you need to slightly bend your arm at the elbow. In a circular motion from the wrist joint to the elbow, alternately massage the outer and inner surfaces of the forearm of each hand. Repeat 5-10 times.
3 Side massage. Standing or sitting, rub the sides with bent arms tightly adjacent to the body. Repeat 6-10 times.
4 Shoulder massage. The shoulder is massaged on the lowered arm. Stroking and rubbing, massage from the bottom up from the elbow with the capture of the elbow joint to the armpit. It cannot be massaged.
5 Massage of the buttocks. Stand up, transfer the weight of the body to the left leg, take the right leg to the side, slightly bend at the knee and put it on the toe. Massage the right gluteal muscle. With the right palm, perform 3-4 strokes of the buttocks from the bottom up, and then in the same direction with the base of the palm to make tapping. Then grab the gluteal muscle and roll it between the thumbs and four other fingers, while moving the hand from the bottom up and slightly shifting the muscle to the side. Easily grabbing the gluteal muscle with your thumbs and other fingers, make a slight twitch. Repeat with the other buttock. Do 10-20 times.
6 Abdominal massage. Before doing self-massage of the abdomen, you need to lie on your back, bend your knees. Stroking the abdomen clockwise 6-8 times, then kneading with semicircular movements with the ends of the fingers 8-10 times. The abdomen is massaged either on an empty stomach or 2 hours after eating. During menstruation and in diseases of the gallbladder, you can not massage.
Standing or sitting. Squeeze the front wall of the abdomen with your palms with its simultaneous active retraction – exhale, while relaxing – inhale. Repeat 4-8 times.
7 Back and waist massage. Standing, feet shoulder width apart. Bend slightly. With the back of the hand, stroke the back from the pelvic bones to the shoulder blades.
Lumbar massage is done in the same position, the movement of the hands from the buttocks to the lower back, to the right and left to the pelvic bones. Use the pads of 4 fingers to make a circular rubbing, pressing on the coccyx, sacrum, lower back, making sliding movements towards each other, moving the skin towards the spine, performing up and down movements. Repeat 10-20 times.
8 Breast massage. Standing, sitting, lying down rub and stretch the pectoral muscles. Repeat 4-8 times. The mammary glands cannot be massaged.
9 Foot massage. Before you properly do self-massage of the legs, you need to sit down, slightly bend your knees. Stroking and rubbing first the lower leg, then the thigh. Change leg. Repeat 35 times.
Shaking the muscles of the lower leg and thigh of the bent and relaxed leg with the brushes. Change leg. Repeat 8-10 times.
Remember that any technique begins and ends with stroking.
Attention! Before doing self-massage of the legs, be examined by a phlebologist: with varicose veins, it is not recommended to resort to these procedures.