Posterior: Foot, Leg & Glute

POSTERIOR TECHNIQUE:
Foot, Leg & Glute (Right Side Only)

1. Lateral Foot & Lateral Lower Leg, Proximally:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S5 facing the head of the table with left foot at a 45-degree angle. Standing foot left, working foot right.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin with work along the lateral arch of the recipient's foot with your big toe/pad of the foot. Move to recipient’s Achilles’s tendon with the base of your 1st metatarsal and fade into your medial arch on recipient’s calf tissue at a slight oblique angle. Stop pressure before the knee joint.

Target Tissue:

Lateral soleus, lateral gastrocnemius.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Be sure to always bolster the recipient’s leg appropriately so that the ankle is not over extended and the leg is not laterally rotated at the hip. Never apply any pressure directly on the knee joint! Varicose veins may be a consideration depending on recipient’s history.

2. Medial Foot & Medial Lower Leg, Proximally:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S5 facing the head of the table with standing foot at a 45-degree angle. Standing foot right, working foot left.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin with work along the medial arch of the recipient's foot with your big toe/pad of the foot. Move to recipient’s Achilles’s tendon with the base of your 1st metatarsal and fade into your medial arch on recipient’s calf tissue at a slight oblique angle. Stop pressure before the knee joint.

Target Tissue:

Medial soleus and medial gastrocnemius.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Be sure to always bolster the recipient’s leg appropriately so that the ankle is not over extended and the leg is not laterally rotated at the hip. Never apply pressure directly on the knee joint! Varicose veins may be a consideration depending on recipient’s history.

3. Medial Upper Leg, Distally:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S3 (opposite the side of the body you are working), facing the head of the table. Standing foot left, working foot right. Option to brace recipient's pelvis with the medial side of your standing leg.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Start at recipient’s lateral gluteal fold, leading with the heel. Drop into the gluteal fold and fade into your medial arch aiming for ischial tuberosity. Continue down the medial hamstrings via a pivoting action with your heel and the ball of your foot. Stop above the knee. Variation: Start above recipient’s greater trochanter, leading with the heel, between the edge of the sacrum and the greater trochanter, aiming for ischial tuberosity.

Target Tissue:

Medial hamstrings, posterior adductors.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Do not apply pressure directly on the knee joint.

4. Glute:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S2 facing the foot of the table at a slight angle. Standing foot right, working foot left.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap / Double Hand Twine.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Start at recipient’s iliac crest, with the pad of the foot/toes facing the foot of the table, working in between the edge of the sacrum and the greater trochanter, aiming towards midline and distally. Variation: begin the stroke with the toes facing the head of the table and rotate the foot as you work between the greater trochanter and the edge of the sacrum.

Target Tissue:

Gluteus maximus, medius & minimus, lateral hip rotators.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Hip replacements, arthritis in the hip, sciatica.

5. Lateral Upper Leg, Distally:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S2 facing the foot of the table at a slight angle. Standing foot right, working foot left.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap / Handle Grip.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Drop into recipient’s gluteal fold with your toes/pad of your foot, work down the leg with your toes/pad of the foot on the hamstrings and your heel contacting the posterior border of the IT band. Stop pressure before the knee joint; it is ok to have the pad of the foot/toes directly on the back of knee but without pressure…keep pressure in your heel for the last part of this stroke. Variation: A more lateral trajectory (with the heel of the working foot dragging on the surface of the table) will affect the IT band more directly.

Target Tissue:

Hamstrings, IT band.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Do not apply pressure directly on the knee joint; stop the stroke before the knee or stay light on the pad of the foot/toes with pressure in the heel.

6. Lateral Lower Leg, Distally:

Practitioner Position:

Stand at S4 facing the foot of the table. Standing foot right, working foot left.

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Start beneath the knee, near the head of the fibula with your pad of the foot as your working surface, work distally and ending at the Achilles tendon.

Target Tissue:

Lateral Gastrocnemius and Soleus.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Be sure to always bolster the recipient’s leg appropriately so that the ankle is not over extended, and the leg is not laterally rotated at the hip. Never apply pressure directly on the knee joint! Varicose veins may be a consideration depending on recipient’s history.