What Is Reflexology?
Reflexology is an alternative, non-conventional treatment given by a reflexologist. According to the Reflexology Association of America, "It can be used with any medical or alternative therapy, or it can stand alone as an effective health maintenance technique. It is the systematic, manual stimulation of the reflex maps located on the feet, hands and outer ears that resemble the shape of a human body. Pressure is applied using thumbs and fingers in small movements to stimulate an area far removed from the reflex point. It is believed to work through the nervous and subtle energy systems of the body."
The History of Reflexology
Reflexology was initially practiced by Indians, Chinese, and Egyptians in ancient times. William Fitzgerald, M.D., introduced reflexology to the west in 1913. Based on his knowledge that applying pressure to specific parts of the body could affect other related areas, he divided the body into 10 equal, vertical zones. Dr. Fitzgerald theorized that applying pressure on part of a zone could affect everything within the same zone. It was called "zonotherapy" because he divided the body into ten bioelectrical zones and thought that our bioelectrical energy all flowed through points in our hands and feet. Eunice D. Ingham later developed reflexology into what we see today, focusing on the feet and largely ignoring the hands.
The Theory Behind Reflexology
Reflexology is based on the theory that the body is capable of healing itself. With a chronic illness like osteoarthritis, the body is in a state of "imbalance." Not only that, vital energy pathways are blocked, causing the body to function less effectively. Reflexology is believed to work with the body’s systems to improve function.
What You Should Do If Interested in Trying Reflexology?
Look for a reflexologist who has received instruction and certification at the 200 hour level. Many reflexologists are Board Certified through American Reflexology Certification Board, the national, nonprofit testing agency for Reflexology in the United States. To find a certified reflexologist near you, check this list.
Practitioners use various things like wire burshes, balls, clamps, clothspins, and more in order to stimulate the pressure points on a person's feet. This, they claim, will cure a multitude of ills, even that it will reverse the aging process and make you young again.
Reflexology closely paralles iridology in form and premises. And, like iridology, there is absolutely no scientific basis for the belief that it has any medicinal value whatsoever. At best, supporters point to anecdotes because no controlled, scientific experiments prove their claims.
Reflexology is a method of stimulating the body’s healing mechanisms through massage of certain reflex points on the feet and occasionally the palms of the hands. The therapy, derived from ancient Chinese and Indian diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, is based on the idea that the organs of the body are represented on the feet, making them a vital map of the body. The foot is also ideally shaped and sized for the human hand. We can hold a foot naturally and easily.
The Reflexologist
Modern reflexology is both a science and an art. As a science, it requires careful study, faithful practice, a sound knowledge of the techniques, and skill. And yet as one of the healing arts, reflexology yields the best results when the Reflexologist works with dedication, patience, focused intention, and above all, loving care. The reflexologist is a channel of healing; no instruments or gadgets are ever used, only the hands.
Reflexology is preventive health care
Reflexology reduces stress and induces deep relaxation, improves circulation, cleanses the body of toxins and impurities, balances the whole system, and revitalizes energy. The Reflexologist stimulates more than 7-thousand nerves when touching the feet, and encourages the opening and clearing of neural pathways. The body has built-in mechanisms for cleansing itself, mainly the lymphatic and elimination systems (lymph nodes, the kidneys and colon, and the skin). If these become blocked or function improperly, toxins and waste matter build up. By deepening relaxation, reflexology causes all the systems of the body to function more efficiently, including those that eliminate waste products. How is it Supposed to Work?
Reflexology is based on the theory that all of the body’s organs, glands and systems have corresponding points on the feet and hands, and that stimulating these points can increase circulation of blood and energy to improve the function of the body and increase health.
What Happens During a Treatment?
The basic sequence of events is pretty much the same everywhere:
Before getting started, you will be asked to fill out a form describing different health problems and symptoms that you may have (make sure that you communicate that you have MS).
A bowl with warm water (often with some marbles in the bottom and some fragrant oils added) is placed in front of you while you are seated for you to soak your feet in for a couple of minutes.
The reflexologist will then dry your feet and you will either lie down on a massage table or recline in a comfortable chair with the reflexologist seated at your feet.
She will work on one foot at a time, combining different techniques of stroking, “crawling” and pressure with her fingers on different parts of your foot, concentrating on areas corresponding to problems that you have reported or where she senses issues that need to be addressed.
The process will be repeated for the other foot. The foot that she is not working on will be kept covered.
She may use some of the techniques on your hands, as well.
Usually in a reflexology treatment, you leave your clothes on, unless you receive your treatment in a spa where you may be encouraged to wear a robe. A reflexology treatment usually lasts between 45 and 60 minutes.
What Does it Feel Like?
For the most part, reflexology feels like a foot massage. There may be points in the treatment where it is slightly uncomfortable as pressure is applied to specific points (I was told that the discomfort was due to the “stuck chi” in the corresponding organ). However, it should never be painful. Overall, it is an incredibly relaxing experience. Many people either fall asleep or enter a state of total tranquility that one practitioner referred to as “the zone.”
Consulting a Reflexologist
Check the credentials of any therapist you choose. You need to ask whether he or she has had specialist reflexology training, is licensed by a national body, and is covered by indemnity insurance. Each treatment lasts thirty to 45 minutes. Best results are achieved through a series of treatments, preferably at weekly intervals. During the first session, the reflexologist will take a comprehensive case history to form the basis of treatment assessment. This will include information about your medical history, your lifestyle, and the specific reason for your visit. The client will either sit comfortably in a chair or lie on a massage bed while the practitioner examines your feet to see if there are areas of scaliness, puffiness, corns or calluses, and fungal infections; he or she will also check your toenails and see whether you have high arches or flat feet.
Self-help
Depending on how flexible you are it may be easier to massage your hands rather than your feet in a self-help reflexology treatment. Exercise your feet and hands by stretching out your toes and fingers as widely as possible, curling them in and out, twisting ankles and wrists, and finishing with an overall shake. Walk around on your bare foot as much as possible, which stimulates the sensory output from the feet to the brain. Specialist foot massage aids include contoured wooden shoes and sandals. You could also try rolling a golf ball or a rolling pin around the sole of your foot against the floor or between the palms of your hands. Allergy sufferers can relieve their sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes by rubbing the top of the first segment of the big toe with the thumb, in an upward movement toward the nail. For abdominal bloating and digestive difficulties, rub and press under the metatarso-phalangeal joint of the big toe (ball of the foot) and the entire digestive zone area – the middle part of the foot where the digestive reflexes lie. Women with menstrual pain or irregularity, other pelvic area difficulties, or lower back pain, should rub and press the area between the anklebone and the heel of the inner foot. Doing this regularly can significantly reduce the intensity and duration of menstrual cramping.
Talk to Your Doctor
It's always wise to discuss a treatment you want to try with your doctor. Seek his advice so you will know his opinion. It would be ill-advised to stop your current treatment regimen when beginning reflexology. Be sure your doctor feels there is no harm in trying it, even if there are also no guarantees. The effectiveness of reflexology for the treatment of osteoarthritis has not been well-studied.
Effects of Stress on the Heart
In the August, 2004 edition of GreatnLife magazine it was reported that Duke University Medical Center researchers in Durham, N.C. studied the effects of stress on hearts in a clinical trial that monitored the reaction of the heart to everyday events. They discovered that the more stress, anger and sadness someone experienced, the less able their hearts were able to respond effectively. It was like the pressure exerted on the heart by the constant emotional ups and downs of stress caused it to stretch beyond its capacity to bounce back to normal.
Link Between Depression and Reduced Heart Rate
Another study determined a link between depression and impaired heart health. Researchers at Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., and Yale University, New Haven, Conn., recently studied 50 pairs of male twins by hooking them up to electrocardiograms for 24 hours. They concluded a link existed between depression and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) or fluctuations between heartbeats. Decreased HRV can weaken the heart and make it more susceptible to sudden fatalities.
Reflexology: Low Cost Option to Offset Stress
Reflexology can be a natural, low cost option to offsetting the effects of stress on heart and overall health. Reflexology endeavors to treat the body, mind and spirit as a cohesive system by getting to the cause of disease not its symptoms. Reflexology possesses the capacity to cancel out the effects of stress while it helps the body to reach a place of deep relaxation where it can balance the body systems.
Reflexology Reduces Stress
Through the relaxation process the body is more capable of dealing with the stresses placed on it by daily living and those associated with illness. Reflexology gently nudges the body towards improved functioning of the system by improving lymphatic drainage and venous circulation, simulation to the nerve pathways, and muscle relaxation. In a report on reflexology research published at www.reflexology-research.com a Chinese study demonstrated how reflexology efficiently alleviated the effects of extreme stress. Twenty patients being treated for neurasthenia?a condition of extreme emotional stress-- were given a course of reflexology at the hospital?s department of physiotherapy. The treatments focused on areas of the feet relating to the adrenal glands, kidneys, bladder, sinus, brain and heart?organs that are compromised by the effects of stress. The treatments were given daily for a week with the following results presented at the China reflexology symposium in July, 1993: 40 percent experienced a complete cure; 35 percent were greatly improved; 15 percent mildly improved; and 10 percent reporting no change at all.
Reflexology Releases Feel-Good Hormones
Reflexology therapeutically reduces stress and tension throughout the body?s systems to improve blood and lymph circulation, increase nerve supply to the cells and release toxins from the body's tissues. It is believed to encourage the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good hormones, well documented in their ability to relieve stress.
Reflexology Supports Self-Healing
These physiological benefits facilitate improvements in the body's assimilation of nutrients, elimination of wastes and immune system stimulation. Reflexology supports the body in its process of self-healing and maintaining the balance that leads to good health. Plus, reflexology feels great and nearly everyone is a candidate for reflexology--even people who are not candidates for traditional massage therapy due to physical restrictions or who may be inhibited about disrobing. With reflexology, all you remove is footwear.