Expert offers tips for foot massage
Giving yourself a foot massage doesn’t compare with having a professional do it. But when you’re all you’ve got, your thumbs — or a golf or tennis ball — can help. Anne Williams, director of education for Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals in Golden, Colo., offered tips:
• Soak your feet in a bin of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes. Add ½ cup Epsom salts to the water for extra relief.
• Put a golf or tennis ball on the floor; roll the bottom of your foot all over it.
• With a foot in your lap, lather it with lotion (not oil, which does not glide as well over feet). Squeeze your foot all over with both hands.
• Stabilize your foot with one hand, and with the other take all your toes and rotate them one way, then the other. Then take each toe one by one and gently pull up and twist.
• Use your thumbs to massage in a circular motion up the sole of your foot, from the heel to the toes. Then crisscross your thumbs back down the sole to the heel.
• Put one hand on the top of your foot and the other hand in a fist against the ball of your foot. Slide both simultaneously down toward your ankle.
• Grab the back of your calf and massage up and down while pointing and flexing your foot. This can be especially helpful for high-heel wearers.
— Chicago Tribune
Hints from Heloise:
Count them out
A.C. writes via email: Just want to send out a little warning to anyone picking up a prescription: Have your pills counted in front of you. We had a prescription for a narcotic. We were supposed to get 30, and received only 12. Someone enjoyed the rest of ours.
Because I had no proof that the pills were missing, the pharmacy got away with this. So from now on, whenever I pick up a prescription, I will have it counted in front of me.
Heloise answers: It’s wise to check the medication to be sure it’s what was prescribed. You always should let the pharmacy know if pills are missing, as a safety measure.
— King Features
