Questions About Self Massage Of Lower Legs, Calfs, Shins Etc

by Paul
(England UK)

hi again joshua

I am upping my ice dipping and ice massage for my peroneal tendon soreness and general ankle stiffness

to be honest, I find the ice dipping and massage more effective than just leaving an ice pack on it , which is esentially what you were saying I guess

ok...now onto self massage

clearly there is a a lot of tightness going on in my lower legs

can you give a brief idea of how a person might self massage the shins, the calfs etc in order to tackle soreness and tendonitis in addition to ice dipping ?

will any sort of finger and hand movement bring circulation into these areas ?

should one go up the calfs and shins ? or down ?

or just basically attack the lower legs in a variety of ways and do so as often as possible ?

even watching the ball game( soccer over here in england) on television ?

would an occasional visit to a massage therapist be a worthwhile investment

----

Joshua Answers:

Hi Paul.

More effective, that's EXACTLY what I was saying! :)

As far as self massage, you said it perfectly:

"will any sort of finger and hand movement bring circulation into these areas ?

or just basically attack the lower legs in a variety of ways and do so as often as possible?"

At the very basic level, yes, just do -something-. Rub some how, some way, and that's a great place to start.

It's just like squeezing a sponge...no matter how you squeeze it, it gets squeezed.

Having said that, one could make the case that 'up' is safer/better than 'down'.

It's a great idea to sit and watch tv for an hour or two, and just absentmindedly do self massage.

It's tough to do it wrong.

And yes, if you can find a skilled, experienced massage therapist, that's definitely a good investment.