So, what does this photo have to do with reflexology and stress? Hummm. Tarzan sure appears to be the Barefoot Reflexologist in this photo! I should have known. I am impressed and delighted.
My childhood hero was Tarzan (the real one, Johnny Weissmuller, of course). I watched him every Saturday morning. Then, we played in the backyard. I was Tarzan, Jill was Jane and if my other cousin came over, we made him be Cheetah.Tarzan has come back in my life through a series of gifts. Years ago, my son gave me a Tarzan action figure that actually yelled. It lives in my shower and I see it every day. Recently, Steve has been sending me the coolest postcards with scenes from various Tarzan movies. I love them and him for being so thoughtful! They hang by my front door. Who can say that? Today my friend, Kim, gave me a six movie Tarzan DVD set. How cool is that! They are hard to find. This set came from England. She gets me and I love her for it.
See, my favorite scenes were when Jane jumped out of the tree into Tarzan’s arms. Sigh! I thought it was so romantic!! It was trust personified for this little girl’s heart. That’s why I still crush on Tarzan today. My heart has taken a beating through the years but Jesus and Tarzan have never let me down.
I believe good memories and touchstones can be stress relievers. When I see the gifts of love and giggles about my Tarzan, I am first grateful for the givers and then for the comfort of good times. I feel safe and secure.
Take a few moments and think of your childhood hero. I hope you giggle and take a deep breath. Come get your feet done and I will smile with you.
I
am fascinated by the benefits of reflexology. For the most part, this
is because no one really understands how or why it works so well. It’s
amazing that this 6,000-year-old healing art still eludes even the best
scientists.
Paul said: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (1)
You
probably already know that I am about as evidenced based as they come. I
want to see peer-reviewed research before I am certain of anything. In
fact, the information that I provide to patients on my website comes
from scientific literature primarily.
Often, however, there is
scarce research, and in this case, I need to take a historical
perspective. This is definitely true with reflexology, which is an
ancient healing practice. It’s been used for millennia, and there are
hundreds of thousands of personal testimonials to back it up. This means
that the proof is in the pudding?
Exactly What is Reflexology?
Vitalism
is at the core of reflexology. This is the popular concept that an
innate intelligence governs our body, promotes self-healing, and
monitors us. It is similar to how, after cutting yourself, for example, a
bandage might stimulate your body’s natural tendency to clot blood.
This is how reflexologist’s see their systematic approach to foot
massage and hand massage. They see this form of massage as stimulating
the healing response by stimulating the nervous system.
Reflexology
has a rich history. There are several theories that explain this
beautiful healing art. Let’s look at them in detail:
How Reflexology Works
Many
researchers have been confused about how reflexology works in a
scientific way. Actually, no one knows exactly how it works. Still,
there is an agreement that reflexology is definitely effective at
treating and preventing numerous health conditions. There are four basic
theories about how and why reflexology works. (2)
Central nervous system adaption theory
This is a theory that comes from a discovery made in the late 19th
century by Sir Henry Head and Sir Charles Sherrington. These men
discovered that there are relationships between our bodily organs and
our skin as well as external stimuli like massage. The stimulation and
connection between these elements can create healing effects within the
nervous system.
Gate control theory
This theory talks about how reflexology can reduce pain. It suggests that massage and reflexology improve stress and your happiness, and this helps with pain because pain is actually created inside your brain.
Vital energy theory
This
theory has its roots in the idea of the yin and the yang. The theory
looks at the idea that stress slows down or stops the flow of vital
energy in everyone’s body. Reflexology helps to reinvigorate the flow.
Zone theory
This
theory is based on the idea that our feet and hands have their own
reflex zones. These reflex zones correspond to certain parts of the
body, like organs. Let’s discuss this theory more as it has a rich
history.
Exploring the History of Zone Therapy and Reflexology
It
is not certain how often reflexology was used in the ancient world.
Still, there are many reports that show reflexology dating back to
ancient China (3)
about 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians are known to have used
reflexology as well. There are numerous markings that have been found in
Egyptian tombs showing physicians massaging the feet of their patients.
Inscriptions say: “Don’t hurt me” with the practitioner’s reply, ” I
shall act so you praise me.” (4)
The
Romans likely took their knowledge of reflexology from the Egyptians.
From there, it spread around the world for several hundred years. There
are even North American tribes that used foot therapy before Columbus
arrived in North America. This likely means that these ancient cultures
found this healing art on their own.
Later, in the 16th
century, we can see where modern iterations of reflexology began. Most
people called the healing practice “Zone Therapy.” History books are not
very exact when it comes to this form of therapy; however, the International Institute of Reflexology states:
“Zone
Therapy was used as far back as 1500 A.D. The American President, James
Abram Garfield was said to apply pressure to his feet to relieve pain.
During the 16th Century, a number of books were published on Zone
Therapy, one was written by Dr. Adamus and Dr. A’tatis and another by
Dr. Ball in Leipzig.” (3)
“Zone Therapy” was first used as a term by William Hope Fitzgerald, MD (1872 – 1942). He used the term in the early 20th
century and put together a protocol that is now the basis for
modern-day reflexology. He used numerous columns, bands, hooks, probes,
tools, electricity, light energy, and other stainless steel instruments
to create painkilling responses in the feet and hands of his patients.
The work of Fitzgerald was brought to the attention of the public in
1915 by Edwin Bowers, who wrote an article that was published in
Everybody’s Magazine (3) entitled “To stop that toothache, squeeze your toe.”
Bruce Barton, the magazine’s editor, described this: (5)
“For
almost a year Dr. Bowers has been urging me to publish this article on
Dr. FitzGerald’s remarkable system of healing known as Zone Therapy.
Frankly, I could not believe what was claimed for Zone Therapy, nor did I
think that we could get magazine readers to believe it. Finally, a few
months ago, I went to Hartford unannounced and spent a day in Dr.
FitzGerald’s offices. I saw patients who had been cured of goiter; I saw
throat and ear troubles immediately relieved by Zone Therapy; I saw
nasal operations performed without any anesthetic whatever; and — in a
dentist’s office — teeth extracted without any anesthetic except the
analgesic influence of Zone Therapy. Afterward, I wrote to about fifty
practicing physicians in various parts of the country who have heard of
Zone Therapy and are using it for the relief of all kinds of cases, even
to allay the pains of childbirth. Their letters are on file in my
office.”
What Fitzgerald had discovered was amazing. Putting
pressure on certain zones of the feet and hands could relieve pain, and
it could also help the underlying causes of the pain. Zone therapy was
controversial up until the 1930s, and only oral health professionals and osteopaths generally received and used it.
Fitzgerald’s
work was continued by Eunice Ingham, a physical therapist (1889–1974).
Ingham painstakingly mapped the feet along with the glands and organs
that each part of the feet corresponded to. Today, reflexologists all
around the world continue to use Ingham’s work.
Seven Benefits of Reflexology
78
health disorders and 168 studies were evaluated by Dr. Kevin and Dr.
Barbara Kunz. They found four main ways that people can be helped by
reflexology. (6):
The
mechanisms and details behind the positive facts listed above are not
completely certain. Still, reflexology has been highly successful at
helping the body to take care of the following health concerns. If you
suffer from any of these 7 health concerns, I recommend giving
reflexology a try.
Reflexology has the amazing ability to help with stress and anxiety. Sixty-seven post-menopausal
women were randomly given either nine sessions of nonspecific foot
massage or reflexology in a trial conducted in 2002. The women then
completed a health questionnaire (the Women’s Health Questionnaire or
WHQ), and the effectiveness of the reflexology was evaluated.
Researchers saw that reflexology led to a decrease in anxiety of 50
percent. This was two times that of the control or nonspecific foot
massage group!
Researchers
in Denmark wanted to know how well reflexology would work on people who
had migraines and headaches. They did this in the 1990s. One study that
was published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
in 1999. The study had 78 reflexologists treat 220 patients for a
duration of six months. After just half the time had passed, 81 percent
of the patients said that their headache problems had considerably
improved. Nineteen percent of the study’s participants who used to take
drugs to help with their migraines are headaches were able to stop
taking these drugs.
Those
with type II diabetes commonly battle nerves and pain related
conditions. Reflexology has not been proven to affect blood glucose
levels, but it could help with this nerve pain. The journal, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, found
that reflexology helped with the improvement of the nerve conductivity,
the reduction of pain, and the correction of vibration and thermal
sensitivity contact concerns in diabetic patients. It also helped to
improve control of glucose levels, which could mean that someday,
reflexology could be regularly prescribed for those with type II diabetes.
Roughly
50 percent of women who are at the age of menstruation have menstrual
pain or dysmenorrhea. There are numerous other side effects that occur
during a woman’s menstrual week as well. A recent study from the Iranian
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences looked at how reflexology work
in contrast to taking ibuprofen for premenstrual syndrome. There were
two groups. The first group was the control group, and each woman
received 400 mg of ibuprofen once every eight hours. They took this
dosage for a duration of three days for three months of their monthly
cycles. The other group had 10 reflexology sessions that were each 40
min. long for two consecutive monthly cycles.
At the end of the
trial, it was found that reflexology was able to promote healing as well
as manage pain. In fact, reflexology was found to be, “associated with
more reduction of intensity and duration of menstrual pain in comparison
with Ibuprofen therapy.” It’s also important to note that the third
month of the trial where ibuprofen was given to the control group but
reflexology was not performed on the test group, the reflexology effects
had continued so that the pain management of reflexology was not even
necessary, and even though the reflexology treatments were not
performed, those patients still felt better than those who were taking
ibuprofen.
The
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine took 150 adults who had
chronic sinus infections symptoms and looked at how a reflexology
treatment compared with a nasal irrigation treatment. They did this for
two weeks. The study found that, “There was a significant and equivalent
improvement in Rhinosinusitis Outcomes Measure 31 score after 2 weeks
of intervention in each treatment group.” In the end, 35% of the
patients reported that they could decrease the use of their sinus
medications because of the reflexology treatments, and 70% of the
participants benefited overall from the reflexology treatments.
It has not been proven that cancer cells are directly affected by reflexology. However, the British journal Nursing Standard
did a controlled study that found that 100% of the cancer patients in
this study said they had significant improvement in the quality of their
life after only three reflexology treatments. Areas of their lives that
were enhanced included sleep and urination, happiness,
isolation, pain, mobility, fatigue, appearance, constipation, diarrhea,
breathing, communication, fear of the future, and appetite.
It has been well-established that a risk measure for heart disease
called baroreceptor reflex sensitivity has been greatly reduced with
the help of reflexology. These findings were published in 1997 in the
journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine. Amazingly enough,
it was found that the baroreceptor receptor areas of the brain were
directly related to pressure points on the feet. We don’t exactly know
how heart health can be improved by reflexology, but when coupled with
other therapies that reduce pain, anxiety, and stress, there seem to
The gifts of a card, candy and flowers are very nice, but sometimes love calls us to get out of the box. Our desire to gift our love with something unique and special calls for some creativity and fun. Have I mentioned reflexology yet? A reflexology gift certificate whispers love and caring. How romantic! In return, you get a relaxed Valentine.
Maybe so! Stress is surely a killer of romance. Being relaxed makes your heart more open to love. You have reflexes on your feet for ovaries and uterus for women and prostate and testicles for men. Now, sex is complicated but don’t get stressed. Reflexology was discovered to support overall relaxation. Valentine”s Day is coming! A reflexology gift certificate would be a lovely gift.
Sharon West, RCR
731-589-0380 for gift certificates and appointments
Do you have a stressed-out teenager? Instead of candy this Valentine’s, consider a reflexology gift certificate. Reflexology relaxes and gives them a break. It is a safe and private place to let go…and it’s healthy! For teens today, stress hits them from everywhere. From my office, it stops!
We all hold great hope for the new year, but really, you are going to need me this year. Reflexology can be your secret weapon when things get stressful. Think of it as a positive time out for yourself. It is a time to clear your mind and just…relax. Come on and get started.
I have an office in Sunflower Health Food in Dyersburg, TN. I work by appointment. Call me and let’s talk. 731-589-0380
Yesterday, my friend Kim and I went to a lecture on Monarch butterflies by Gene Cannon at the Reelfoot NWR. We got to see the tiny eggs on milkweed leaves, to tiny caterpillars, to big fat caterpillars (their job to get fat!) and the beautiful jade green chrysalis with its artistic gold trim.
I held a medium fat caterpillar curled up on my palm. I gently stroked it and it uncurled and crawled up my finger. Alas, we had no butterflies! Two of the chrysalis were overdue to dazzle us by becoming butterflies. You can’t rush metamorphoses!!
We can’t rush our own transformations. It is stressful to try. We can want to be anyone but ourself, anywhere but here. I wonder if God giggles as we become us, knowing we will fly. I know I got stuck in the worm stage. I think my lesson here is this: there is HOPE. God gives us examples from nature. We later walked through a butterfly garden and were amazed by the glory of these former caterpillars.
An old cartoon on my refrigerator addresses this well. Two caterpillars look up in the sky as a butterfly flies by and one says, “You’d never get me up in one of those!”
I have wonderful clients. Most of them get the three session series, some continue for many months. I get to be a part of their lives–both the joy and pain. I am honored when I get to bring some relaxation to their world. Both men and women, old and young, rich and not so much, make-up my clients. I am so glad!
