I wanted to comment on the idea of massage downward on the legs. I’m a massage therapist and it’s better to massage upwards to protect the valves in the legs. Here is brief description that I hope is helpful.
“Blood flow in the veins below the heart is helped back up to the heart by the muscle pump. The walls of the veins are thin and somewhat floppy. To compensate for this many veins are located in the muscles. Movement of the leg squeezes the veins, which pushes the blood toward the heart. When the muscles contract the blood within the veins is squeezed up the vein and the valves open. When the muscle is at rest, the valves close helping to prevent the backward flow of blood. This is referred to as the muscle pump.” This description is from a support hose company but it works 🙂