Not everyone is comfortable with touching other people's feet, but a type of massage where the therapist uses their feet instead of their hands is becoming more popular. But are ashiatsu massages safe?
Amanda Barfoth might look like a gymnast, but she's actually giving what's known as an ashiatsu massage. She says many of her clients are a little apprehensive at first.
"I'm a little nervous. I've never had anyone walk on me before," Client Kari Barfoth said.
But Amanda doesn't necessarily dive in feet first. She explains the massage to her clients and makes sure her feet are well sanitized.
"Most the time I'm actually standing on the table, not the client," Amanda said.
Amanda has been trained specifically in ashiatsu, along with the other training needed to be a licensed massage therapist.
"There's definitely specific hours of training we have to complete, tests, hands-on training where they test us to make sure we know what we're doing," Amanda said.
Amanda also says it's important not to walk on a person's spine. That could cause injuries. Therapists also rarely, if ever, use their full weight.
"I can control the pressure as much or as little as I need to with the bars with balance and stability," Amanda said.
Amanda says this spin on a foot massage actually allows her to work more efficiently.
"My foot is bigger than my hand, so we can work the muscle as a whole," Amanda said.
Amanda says she's also able to better control how much pressure she's using than a traditional massage.
"Sometimes I'm standing to the side of them. Sometimes I can use full pressure. It just depends on the client, how much pressure they can tolerate and what area of the body I'm working," Amanda said.
As for Kari, she says she's relaxed after being walked all over.
"Being a college student, there's always a lot of stress, so it's kind of nice to come in and relax and take the hour away from everything else," Kari said.
Even though ashiatsu is just starting to catch on in KELOLAND, the massage is very common in China and Japan.
Comments