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. Full Lateral Leg, Proximally:

Practitioner Position:

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

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin at the 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. Gently glide over the popliteal fossa with little to no pressure and drop into the hamstrings with the pad of your foot. Continue up the leg while pivoting your torso and your standing foot towards the foot of the table. Your working foot will naturally pivot so that the pad of your foot leads into the gluteal fold.

Target Tissue:

Lateral soleus, lateral gastrocnemius, lateral IT band, lateral hamstrings.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Be sure to always bolster the recipient’s leg appropriately so that the ankle is not overextended, 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.

3. 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.

4. Full Medial Leg, Proximally:

Practitioner Position:

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

Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin at the 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. Gently glide over the popliteal fossa with little to no pressure and drop into the hamstrings with the pad of your foot. Continue up the leg while pivoting your torso and your standing foot to face the foot of the table. Your working foot will naturally pivot so that your heel leads into the gluteal fold. End by extending through your heel until it contacts ischial tuberosity.

Target Tissue:

Medial soleus, medial gastrocnemius, hamstrings.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Be sure to always bolster the recipient’s leg appropriately so that the ankle is not overextended, 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.

5. 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 1: Use your heel as the focus of your contact and end the stroke when your heel reaches the gluteal fold. Variation 2: Use the ball of your foot and medial arch as the focus of your contact in order to contour the medial border of the greater trochanter. When the pad of your foot reaches the gluteal fold, “fan” your heel laterally.

Target Tissue:

Gluteus maximus, medius & minimus, lateral hip rotators.

Considerations & Contraindications:

Hip replacements, arthritis in the hip, sciatica.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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