Surprising Facts About Reflexology

by Puna Rabane


Posted on 21-02-2020 02:03 AM



On This Page:

  1. Holistic Healing Benefits
  2. The Origins and History of Reflexology
  3. How Reflexology Works to Relax and Heal the Body
  4. Who Needs Reflexology Help
  5. Clinical Evidence
  6. Reflexology and Childbirth
  7. Where Best to Find a Therapist
  8. Hand Reflexology
  9. Reflexology for Better Health
  10. Special Reflexology

We have recovered some surprising facts about reflexology as a complementary therapy from benefits, to who needs it? From "how if works" to the "clinical evidence", we hope you find thid article useful:

Holistic Healing Benefits

Physical manipulation of our bodies can help to relief pain, by stimulating the release of endorphins and also promote healing. Physical therapies can be combined with other types of conventional or alternative therapies. Some examples of physical therapy include yoga, hydrotherapy, massage and chiropractic therapies.

Yoga is based on an ancient system of harmonising the mind, body and spirit. It enables you to balance your body and also gain strength and flexibility.

Yoga can help the physical and mental aspects of life. Concentration, memory and mood can be improved and depression decreased or even eliminated. reflexology

Physically yoga can improve sleep, posture and hand-eye coordination among many more benefits in all areas of health and wellness.

Reflexology is a unique method of using the thumb and fingers to stimulate more than 7,200 nerve endings in each foot.

These nerve endings correspond to all parts of the body, including organs and glands. Stimulating the appropriate region is intended to eliminate energy blockages thought to produce pain or disease in the related areas. Reflexology is used to prevent, rather than cure, and is used to relieve a wide variety of ailments.

Reflexology can relieve stress and tension within the body by improving circulation and lymphatic flow, and unblocking nerve impulse pathways. These benefits all work toward helping the body to heal itself by restoring balance to the vital energies. Discover the healing qualities of a great foot massage.

The Origins and History of Reflexology

The 1980s saw the start the era of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) around the world. Along with developments in the large picture of complementary and alternative medicine came the emerging professionalism of reflexology with associations being founded on the state, national, and international levels and conferences being held. Reflexology is endorsed as an accepted profession by the governments in China and South Africa. With government recognition comes restrictions. In many countries reflexology practitioners are questioning if this is a route they wish to take.

The Reflexology Association of America was founded in 1995 as the national membership organization. The RAA is dedicated to unifying reflexologists from all educational programs across the nation who desire to work toward the recognition, excellence and professional strength of reflexology. State associations are also welcome to formally affiliate with the RAA.

How Reflexology Works to Relax and Heal the Body

Research is enabling us to learn more and more about how reflexology works, the power of the healing touch and the importance of hands-on therapies in reducing stress and tension. Even how amazing the power of the mind is over the body's responses - sometimes referred to as the Placebo effect.

Stress is understood by the medical profession to be instrumental in developing and exacerbating many health problems. So it is imperative that we find effective ways of managing stress - reflexology can be extremely effective in minimising the effects of stress on mind and body. For more information on current reflexology research have a look at this list of research papers.

Reflexology works at a physical level through the application of pressure to a reflex affecting the nerves that carry the signal to the corresponding area of the body. Benefits are not limited to relaxation, improved lymphatic drainage, and blood circulation. Creating the relief of stress in turn assisting your body in finding balance and healing.

Who Needs Reflexology Help

Those who need this therapy most are desperate or aging patients who have lost hope in finding relief through mainstream medicine. It's because of the sometimes astonishing improvement among , desperate or aging patients reflexology has become better known and respected among the medical community. Also, this is how it has and gained credibility for its therapeutic value. 

One lady says that she had suffered from seasonal allergies for seven years already when she started this therapy. For an entire two months, she massaged the important mapped areas on a daily basis. The result was that she could actually sleep at night without waking up every two hours, not to mention that the allergy symptoms had gone away.

Clinical Evidence

Reflexology (a manipulative and body-based practice ) is a variant of massage therapy that relies on manual pressure applied to specific areas of the palm or foot; these areas are believed to correspond to different organs or body systems via meridians.

In most clinical studies of reflexology, methodology has been poor, and findings tend to be nonspecific effects on subjective symptoms (eg, causing relaxation, indistinguishable from that caused by massage). A systematic review of randomized clinical trials concluded that the best available clinical evidence does not support the efficacy of reflexology as treatment for any indication; the review also noted that methodology in studies of reflexology is often poor.

Reflexology and Childbirth

Pregnancy reflexology can also help relieve some of the common ailments that occur during pregnancy, such as: * morning sickness, hyperemesis, heartburn and nausea * back pain * pelvic girdle pain and symphysis pubis issues * carpal tunnel syndrome by helping you to relax and unwind, a relaxing and restorative reflexology treatment can also positively impact on your partner and wider family. We also offer reflexology for childbirth. Special techniques can be used to help to regulate and lessen the intensity of surges, provide pain relief and calm the mind and body during childbirth.

Applying pressure to certain points on the feet can stimulate contractions and may therefore be an option to avoid induction if you go over your due date. However, please make sure that the therapist you see is trained and insured to use reflexology specifically for this purpose. Many mums-to-be get fed up at the end of pregnancy, but it is important to remember that childbirth is a normal physiological event and that any intervention, even natural techniques like reflexology, may be inappropriate. Please consult with your midwife if you have any concerns.

Where Best to Find a Therapist

Always ask, and make sure the therapist you choose truly is offering you reflexology, and not a related and similar complementary treatment.

Although some ordinary massage therapists have a basic working knowledge of reflex zones and use it in their massage practice, foot or hand massage isn't necessarily using reflex zones. Many styles of massage are on offer and these include foot or hand massage techniques not related to reflex zones.

It's also known as zone therapy, an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet and hands which is done using specific thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of oil or lotion.

Foot reflexology is a practice that primarily built upon the philosophy of reflex maps highlighting the body parts in the feet, hands, ear and face. 

Hand Reflexology

Reflexology is an alternative medicine involving application of pressure to the feet and hands with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion.

The techniques of reflexology can be performed conveniently on the hand in situations where a session on the feet is not practical, although the effectiveness of limited hand therapy is usually considered less pronounced than with the foot pressure therapy.

Sujok treatment is based on assumption that body organs are represented in hand and foot. Stimulation of these sujok points will correct intended organ disease. Sujok healing is new approach to treatment without drugs. 

Reflexology for Better Health

Reflexology is an ancient practice passed down through the ages. Proof of the practice may date back to pre-dynastic china 3000 bc. The incas and native americans may have introduced reflexology to south and north america. What is reflexology? it is a homeopathic massage technique designed to relieve pain. Reflexology zones are located in the feet, hands, teeth, ears, and tongue.

The controlled pressure alleviates the source of the discomfort. In the absence of any particular malady or abnormality, reflexology may be as effective for promoting good health and for preventing illness as it may be for relieving symptoms of stress , injury, and illness.

From the early stages of morning sickness to birth, reflexology can help with the physical, mental and emotional changes that you may experience. Maternity reflexology is a safe and practical therapy for pregnant women and it is also one of the most relaxing therapies you can choose to have during pregnancy. 

Special Reflexology

Digestive problems backache many women have reflexology to encourage labour, especially if they are overdue. It has been proved that reflexology can help induce labour and reduce pain during childbirth.

Reflexology stimulates the release of oxytocin to encourage the onset of uterine contractions. Having a course of reflexology in pregnancy may reduce the overall length of labour.

During childbirth applying pressure to the specific reflex points will help to reduce pain while keeping contractions recurrent and successful.

In the Postnatal period reflexology can help adjusting to the demands of coping with a new baby. This is the time the new mothers can particularly benefit from reflexology.