Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1464088
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 21 VIDEO: "PLANTAR FASCIITIS" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification 4. Watch! There are a lot of muscles that a lot of clients have no idea even exist. Just because they're not associated with the Achilles tendon does not mean they don't play a role in plantar fasciitis. They say knowledge is power. It's time to give your clients some of that power. COOPERATION, NOT COMPETITION With your client prone on the table, place a bolster under their ankles to lift their feet up enough so that there is room for movement. Using a broad palm, place one hand on the belly of the calf. Use your other hand, again using a broad palm, on the arch and ball of the foot. Have the client push into plantar fl exion against your resistance, using your hand on their calf to get a sense of what is fi ring with the most exuberance. Have them repeat this action a couple times, adding the variation of asking them to fl ex their toes. Directing them to point their toes while they push into your hand is a good verbal cue to help them understand what to do. This simple technique can offer you a whole lot of information. Maybe they point their toes without being asked. Maybe they have a limited ability to point their toes. Maybe they have no control over their toes whatsoever. The key here is the knowledge that the fl exor digitorum and the fl exor hallucis muscles are in charge of the toes. And getting those toes to behave is now a matter of dragging those fl exor muscles out of the shadow and into the spotlight. Spend some time shifting your resistance away from the foot and onto the toes specifi cally. Have them focus on fi ring those deep fl exor muscles without the help of the gastrocnemius or the soleus. It may feel weird at fi rst. But change is always awkward. Even when it's good change. Reinvigorating that nervous system integration with these seemingly shy muscles is a good start to creating balance. Offer the client suggestions of homework exercises that activate the fl exors. Some of my favorites are asking them to pick up tissues, towels, or pencils with their toes. Advising them to practice a little toe yoga, creating space between their toes, is also popular. Get creative with your approach. The more fun they have, the more homework they will do, and the more those calf muscles will begin to understand how to share the notoriety. It is said that the redeemer of competition is cooperation. And as a practitioner of holistic therapies, I could not agree more. Teaching muscles the benefi ts of cooperation might be a slow process, but it is well worth it. Humans may have survived using competition, but cooperation is what lifts us beyond surviving into fl ourishing. "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." —Bertrand Russell Allison Denney is a certifi ed massage therapist and certifi ed YouTuber. You can fi nd her massage tutorials at YouTube.com/RebelMassage. She is also passionate about creating products that are kind, simple, and productive for therapists to use in their practices. Her products, along with access to her blog and CE opportunities, can be found at rebelmassage.com. TECHNIQUE