Reflexology: Feet of magic

by Marla Hardee Milling

Suffering from sinus congestion? Frequent headaches? Backache? Before you reach for the decongestant or aspirin bottle, pamper your feet first. The ancient art of reflexology may be just what you need to bring your body back into balance, and to feel good all over.

Imagine lying on a table in a darkened room. You take a few deep breaths and begin to relax as you listen to the soft music playing in the background. You feel the reflexology therapist take your foot in his hands. His fingers begin to apply gentle, yet firm pressure to your toes and the base of your foot. He applies pressure to your big toe and you flinch. "Hey, that hurts." "Have you been having headaches?" the therapist asks. "Yes, but how did you know that?"

He explains that the foot is divided into zones or reflex areas, and that each zone corresponds with a different part of the body. The big toe, for instance, is associated with the head. Pain or tenderness in one area of the foot may reveal a problem elsewhere in the body.

Reflexology is the art, science, and study of specific touch techniques. The concept of reflexology holds that various organs, nerves and glands in your body are connected with certain "reflex areas" on the bottoms of your feet, hands and other areas of the body. Moreover, reflexology claims that by massaging these corresponding areas or "maps," prompt relief from a variety of conditions in the body can be obtained. In most instances the thumb, or sometimes a knuckle, is used as the massaging force, although some therapists use vibrators or other external forces. When properly administered, reflexology is thought to help relieve stress and tension, stimulate deep relaxation, improve the blood supply, and bring balance to the entire body.

"The stimulation of a good reflexology session helps you relax by improving your circulation," says Lisa Chan, a certified/licensed reflexologist in San Gabriel, California. "Improved circulation allows the blood to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the cells, and carry more toxins away from the cells and out of the body. Thus, your body gets a jump start balancing and healing itself."

"It is my mission to help people feel better, happier and healthier in their everyday lives," Chan continues. "Reflexology is a tool that can help accomplish this. In the age of MRIs and antibiotics, reflexology is so simple, its hard to accept at first."

"I have random back and shoulder problems, probably from sitting in front of a computer 15 hours a day," says Dawn Stanley of Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania. Stanley knows what to do when the pain starts. She schedules an appointment with her aunt, Shirley Fantom, a trained reflexologist. "Aunt Shirley works on me for about 30 to 45 minutes and I feel like a million bucks."

Mona Vanek of Noxon, Montana, also knows the benefits of reflexology. Thirty-four years ago she suffered an injury to her lumbar spine in an accident. Two spinal grafts were unsuccessful, leaving Vanek with chronic pain. Then, in 1974, Vanek suffered a broken neck and damage to her thoracic spine in a car wreck. During surgery to repair her neck, nerves to the left side of her skull were damaged and left her with severe, chronic pain.

"To manage the pain, and begin mending some of the muscular-skeletal problems, I began having massage therapy treatments," says Vanek. "My first comprehension of what foot reflexology could do was when the therapist pressed certain pressure points and my stuffed up sinuses let loose I was so embarrassed! Then he explained how the pressure points in the body can cure certain symptoms. He always worked on the ones that brought relief to my over-tight skeletal muscles. Eventually my body mended a good deal."

"Although Im not pain free, by properly balancing my physical activities, Im able to maintain a certain degree of mobility and activity," Vanek continues. "Reflexology is a powerful tool. Just like any other medical treatment, be sure youre going to an expert if you decide to give it a try."

"I work closely with people who have HIV, cancer, and multiple sclerosis (MS). I help them manage pain, feel better, and keep a balance in a medical world that relies on pharmaceuticals that can have some pretty heavy duty side-effects," says Chan. "Some diseases, like MS, have an associated pain that is more challenging. The pain is more mysterious it migrates and eludes. Its humbling for me, because Im accustomed to helping relieve pain so directly. All I know is that after each session, my client feels better, has more energy, is more positive. After six months of weekly sessions, she is less likely to have the debiliating pain and bottomless exhaustion she had before. Were not giving up."

Chan is careful to point out that people with serious illnesses should check with their physicians before making a decision to undergo a reflexology session. She also cautions that reflexology should not be used as a substitute for regular medical check-ups, good exercise, and proper nutrition." Rather, it is a complement to more traditional medical treatment.

"Although a reflexologist does not claim to directly diagnose or treat a disease, the end result of reflex stimulation may produce a spontaneous remission, through activation of the patients electrical, chemical and photobiologic self-healing mechanisms," says Zachary K. Brinkerhoff, III, DR, at the Modern Institute of Reflexology in Denver, Colorado. "Although a cure [for a condition] may not be possible, relief is most often a benefit."

If youre not familiar with reflexology, you might assume its a relatively new treatment form. However, the art of reflexology is so ancient, it cannot be traced to any one culture. An Egyptian wall painting found in the tomb of Ankhmahor at Saqqara also known as the Physicians Tomb shows four men who appear to be engaged in hand and foot reflexology. The painting is dated at the sixth dynasty, which would have been 2330 B.C. Evidence of reflexology treatments can also be traced back thousands of years to China, Japan, and India. And its believed that North American Indian medicine men rubbed and massaged their patients feet as part of their medicinal ritual.

Cultures other than the United States continue to embrace reflexology, especially England, Australia, and Japan. The Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido has built "Stroll Paths" at one factory for its employees health rather than a gym/health club. Every rock, log and bridge in the stroll path is designed to work a particular part of the foot. A bridge is intended to stimulate the toes of the foot, for example. The project has proven to be so successful that Shiseido has hired a construction company to manufacture and install Stroll Paths at its other factories, and Stroll Paths are sold to other companies, as well.

To imagine a stroll path, think of sections of sidewalk with various raised patterns. One section consists of log-like concrete rolls to walk over. Another features embedded chipped marble. Another consists of large river rocks embedded in concrete. Just as tai chi exercisers are commonly seen in the parks of China, an American businessman who lives in Taiwan reports that people walking Stroll Paths are a common sight in that countrys parks.

Dr. William H. Fitzgerald is credited with developing the practice of reflexology in contemporary Western society. In the early 1900s, Dr. Fitzgerald developed zone therapy, a system in which he divided the body into ten equal zones running from the head and ending at the toes and fingers. He found that applying pressure to one part of a zone could affect everything else within that zone.

In the 1930s, Eunice Ingham devoted herself to the continued development and promotion of zone therapy. She mapped organ reflexes on the feet and established techniques for creating a stimulating, healing effect in those areas. Her method was called the "Ingham Method of Massage Compression." Later, it became known as the "Original Ingham Method of Reflexology." She published two books, Stories the Feet Can Tell in 1938 and Stories the Feet Have Told in 1951, and she established the National Institute of Reflexology. Currently, her nephew, Dwight Byers, is the Director of the International Institute of Reflexology in St. Petersburg, Florida.

There is currently no national legislation or licensing requirements for practitioners of reflexology in the United States, although certain states have proposals at various stages of legislative process. So there is no real way to assess the qualifications of a practitioner. One way to find a reliable practitioner would be a referral from a center of alternative medicine at a large medical center, or from a massage therapist whom you know and trust.

Since reflexology treats the whole person, not the symptoms of disease, most people benefit from treatment. The therapy brings relief to a wide range of acute and chronic conditions, and is suitable for all ages. An increasing number of people are using this safe, natural therapy as a way of relaxing, balancing and harmonizing the body.