Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums, for communication between foot health professionals about podiatry and related topics.
You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members (PM), upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, earn CPD points and access many other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisments in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
“Teachers are always stressed,” was the response of Christine Lee’s GP when she went to see him about her insomnia 19 years ago. Over the next few years, Lee, a geography teacher at the Godolphin and Latymer girl’s school in West London, was offered every type of sleeping tablet for her problem, from prescription temazepam and Mogadon to over-the-counter antihistamines, but all of them made her feel “depressed and dreadful the next day”.
Lee, 53, says: “On the tablets, it was like having a huge weight over my head and I just wasn’t myself.” She resigned herself to “plodding along”, sometimes on as little as two hours’ sleep at night. “I felt tired all the time, particularly as some days I wouldn’t drop off till five in the morning. Somehow, though, I still managed to operate.”
And working on auto-pilot is what she had to do in her personal life. She had returned from Kuwait to London after divorcing her husband and was in sole charge of a five-year-old son and three-year-old twins, juggling work and home life.
She assumed that her sleeping difficulties were due to a change in hormones after having children, or that the responsibility on her shoulders meant that “the subconscious would take over during the night and all the worries that had been suppressed during the day would come to the fore”.
Whatever her reasoning, she knew that insomnia was a common complaint. Statistics from the Sleep Council indicate that up to 15 per cent of the British population is thought to be suffering from it at any one time.
It wasn’t until the insomnia coincided with back pain five years later, however, that she was forced to return to the doctor for help. This time she was offered a course of massage on the NHS, opening her up to complementary and alternative therapies. “I had a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, and I found that the massage helped me mentally as well as physically. I felt a sense of wellbeing afterwards.”
The NHS funding for the massage stopped after a couple of months and Lee started paying for the treatment herself because she noticed an improvement in her back, and her sleep, directly afterwards.
However, her life was transformed five years ago when her youngest son Tim, then 17, gave her a voucher for a session with a reflexologist as a Christmas present. At the time he was going out with the daughter of a reflexologist, Viv Knowland, hence the idea for the present. And although the mothers of the dating teenagers had never met before, in her first session with Knowland, Lee remembers feeling an immediate empathy.
“When I first saw Viv, I was worrying about a lot of things, not just the hurt and anger of being on my own, but the hard work of running a family.” Not that the first session was all about soothing her ills. “Viv massaged my leg first and then touched points in my feet that were incredibly painful. The pressure really crunches.” Despite her initial discomfort, Lee found the first session uplifting and, best of all, had her first good night’s sleep in years, with the effects lingering for several days afterwards.
Knowland has been practising reflexology for 15 years in Putney, southwest London, and helps to edit the members’ journal for the Association of Reflexologists. She explains a typical procedure that she would follow in an insomniac’s case. “If someone comes to me with sleep problems, I’ll first look at their medical history, lifestyle, diet, how much stress they have in their lives and how they are managing it.” Lee had already cut her caffeine intake many years ago and her diet was fairly healthy.
A recent article on insomnia in the association’s journal suggests that almost 50 per cent of chronic insomnia cases, defined as when the condition lasts for more than three weeks, are caused by psychological factors.
One of the well-documented benefits of complementary therapy is that the client can talk about their life and, in this instance, the talking, as well as the reflexology, helped. Knowland told Lee that she needed to “slow down and not to take so much on board” and recommended making time for herself by doing yoga, taking long walks and not taking work to bed.
“With Christine, I felt that she was very driven and permanently on the go, always giving as a teacher and putting herself last. Her body was exhausted, she needed some help in getting back in touch with it. Sleep deprivation over a long time, several months building up to years, wears your body down, compromising your immune system.”
Knowland also claimed that Lee’s adrenal glands were getting burnt out, with “stress building up in her body”. The adrenal glands are part of our endocrine system and they are used to respond to stress: the flight or fight response.
The key to this diagnosis was in her feet. “There are more than 7,000 nerve endings in each foot, and the foot is a reflection of the whole body. I could tell immediately how much tension her feet were holding,” Knowland says. “I did a lot of releasing and relaxing moves by pressing points on her feet with my thumbs. Christine needed to learn to recognise when the body and mind are feeling relaxed and tension is released. The first session was quite painful for Christine because there is a sharp prick when you release the pressure or congestion in the pathway with your fingers, and it took about half an hour for the relaxation to kick in.”
When Lee rang Knowland the next day to tell her of her fantastic night’s sleep, she also booked a course of six weekly sessions. People vary in their response to the treatment but Knowland remembers that it took five visits before Lee’s sleep pattern really improved, corresponding with the recommended four to six sessions that most reflexologists advise.
That was five years ago but Lee still goes back for six weekly “maintenance” sessions, even though her insomnia has disappeared. Knowland says: “There’s been a big improvement since I met her; she is so much happier and more in control. I think her first session was a wake-up call. She felt ‘if this is what it’s like to be relaxed, then I want more of it’.”
WHAT IS IT?
REFLEXOLOGY is a complementary therapy with a holistic approach; the whole person is treated, not just the symptoms. According to reflexologists, it uses specific pressure massage techniques on the feet (or hands) to stimulate the nerve endings in each foot. These nerve endings feed information back to the spinal cord and the brain. This brings about the relaxation response, by providing the right environment for change to take place for the client.
SUITABLE FOR all types of minor complaints: insomnia, lower back pain, stiff neck, blocked sinuses, migraines, digestive problems, hormonal imbalance, PMT, auto-immune diseases such as MS and palliative care for cancer.
COST Sessions are always private (although an NHS GP may refer you to a reflexologist) and can cost between £30 and £40 an hour.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE? DR GEORGE LEWITH
Can reflexology cure insomnia? As for many complementary treatments, there have been few high-quality clinical trials in reflexology. It’s also difficult to separate the beneficial effect of a foot massage from the many claims made by reflexologists.
More in the mind than the foot? There is no real evidence that the “nerves in the feet” connect up to specific pathways in the spinal cord, although there are certainly painful areas in the feet and reflexologists sometimes make surprisingly accurate diagnoses. In one study by Dr Adrian White at Exeter University, these diagnoses didn’t always seem to be accurate when tested blind on patients with known ailments by three reflexologists. These three did not seem to agree, with any accuracy, about what was wrong with people they assessed. But research by Dr Nancy Stephenson, from East Carolina University, shows that in a sample of 23 people with cancer, reflexology is better than a placebo in relieving anxiety.
What about the insomnia? One of the only studies to examine the effects of reflexology on insomnia was a small uncontrolled trial with ten insomniacs last week, at the University of Ulster, by Carey McCulloch. Initial results indicate that reflexology can improve sleep but this isn’t enough to claim that it works.
Could something else have made Christine Lee sleepy? There is no doubt that sleep deprivation is unhealthy and taking time out for yourself in a relaxing environment is an excellent way of improving your wellbeing.
However, the particular assumptions within reflexology that concern the “representative” areas of the feet may not be correct. An hour of talking and massage would be an effective way of treating insomnia, along with the suggestion that it might work. Being told by friends and neighbours that it has worked for them might be sufficient to raise Christine’s expectations enough to make it effective for her.
Dr George Lewith is the head of the complementary medicine research unit at Southhampton Medical School
I suspect that as Foot Practitioners we get a bit antsy about reflexologists - territorial issues and all.... But the overwhelming message of this article was that somebody took the time to empathetically listen and respond to this lady.
I don't actually 'hold' with the theorical basis of reflexology, but I do know that as Podiatrists we have a very powerful therapeutic tool which is similar to that found in complementary medicine. Time. So many studies show that patients' symptoms improve when health practitioners listen. I read an article recently which demonstrated that doctors tend to interrupt the patient's initial description of symptoms within 30 seconds of their monologue. All the name of 'asking more focussed questions to elicit significant information'. In fact, when we let people talk, uninterrupted, often the more pertinent and significant stuff drops in to the conversation unprompted.
The average Pod consultation is from 15 to 30 mins - and we don't stick things in peoples mouths to stop them talking like dentists do. (Is it true that the cotton plugs they use are reject tampons where the string didn't stick on....sorry, that was uncalled for).
We should use our time to treat the whole patient. I'm not sure that we need to pinch the feet until the patient relaxes, but we can listen. And that is pretty powerful medicine.
Cheers,
Felicity (who is avoiding what she should be doing by posting long boring epistles on this forum....)
As someone who does reflexology as well as podiatry I find myself always slightly torn. There is the western approach to medicine which is very physiological and there is an approach to treating people (for want of a better term and to make us more at ease we call it comp' med') that would appear to work at an "energy" level. I for one do not agree with the definition of reflexology that describes us dealing with health issues via nerve ending stimulation. I consider this to be an attempt to inadequatelywesternise something we cannot really explain yet, to this extent I think it serves to confuse. But it makes us more comfortable.
Interestingly I also use an adapted form of reflexology in treating people who are having chronic rom problems in the neck and spine after a long term whiplash injury. This technique was pioneered by a Charter Physiotherapist in the UK. She did most of her studies on it based in GP pratices and some A&E departments. By palpating along the medial arch we are able to "detect" what would appear to be restriction in vertebral movements or rib movements. Application of specific types of pressure to these areas (where they are represented along the medial arch), often sees an increased rom occur in the vertebral areas etc, which can be maintained.
I also use acupuncture points (no needles) when treating either sexual abuse or other type of trauma victims - the most recent was a paramedic with PTSD. This particular approach has arisen out of actual psycotherapy and has a demonstrable success. Its actual physiological affects are measureable by noting the change it makes in an individuals Heart Rate Variablity (HRV). That is, it normally remarkably improves within minutes post treatment. I find it interesting that in the world of psycotherapy the value and role of "energy" approaches to treatment is growing significantly. They may not know how it works but it is being seen to work. Amongst some of the research and intellectual members of this group there is a growing discussion of not "does it work" but, because it seems to, and is repeatable (time and money is now being thrown into trials for this) to what is the information of the mind that is being affected and how and how it is done almost instantaneously. This has caused a number of them to rethink the place of the mind in the framework definition of the make up of man.
Over the years I have been involved in both comp and orthodox medicine I have given thought to why different areas of the body could be considered to map out other organs etc. For example, in acupuncture you can use it via the ear or on the main body.
Currently, I consider all the comp med, hands on therapies to come under an umbrella term I have chosen to call "access therapy". That is, the human frame and system(s) ( and I would bracket energy into the systems) is essentially information. This information is communicated both along a physiological root and along an energy matrix (meridians are not my way of seeing it), within which the human frame is contained. We understand the passage of information physiologically but have never had a reasonable answer to how information could be communicated energy wise.
Two developments that help me are:
1. That the information in our systems, as contained within a energy matrix (no, honestly, I'm not thinking about the films here ), could be viewed as essentailly holographic. Access it at any point and you access not a part but a whole - hence my term of access therapy. Whatever energy hands on therapy you use you are simply accessing and influencing information.
2. What is termed as the principle of "non-locality" The ability, sub atomically, of two related bits of information to have immediate and simultaneous influence upon each other no matter how distanced from each other. So stimulation of a part distant from another may have positive bearing upon it via the principle of non-locality - instantaneously.
Into this thought process may well come the issues of intent etc.
However, Felicity raises a valid point about time and listening.
Holistic practice has been captured by western medicine (probably in response to public demand rather than an actual intellectual acceptance) to mean a number of physiological disciplines looking at an individual. I personally feel this is not actually holistic as it was originally meant. Holism was, at least to my understanding over the last 12 years, about embracing and working with both physiological and energy methods in an attempt to move a person towards their own Homeostasis.
My own reason for training up in the various disciplins has been precisely to try and achieve this.
Sorry for the ramble and apologies if my poor explantion of some of the attmps at a scienc bit are crude. Know doubt I will certainly be seen to be even more of the wall, but Hey
In my use of basic foot-massage which was part of my initial training in Chiropody it is not to difficult to see and assimilate with what the Ancient Egyptians were doing in their wall paintings, in if I remember rightly their tombs rather than their temples!
This massage of hand and foot, working very gently on areas of vein, artery and nerve trunks/nerve endings in and under the skin are all possible in modern massage techniques and do not need the mystical Zone Theory or mappings of the body on hands and feet!
Even acupuncture and Acupressure is severely restricted to certain therapies where a positive result has been measured on diseased conditions I believe?
A good test and indicator to these therapies are when you study them you find a comparative simple low number of points on the torso in the beginning! After a little while when it's discovered by the practitioner that these points do not work a myriad of other points appear around it too, "Oh well you hadn't hit the correct spot had you!" More points or dots appear on the torso?
In favour of Homoeopathy, Reflexology,Acupuncture etc.
1. It relaxes the subject/patient, putting his/her body at rest! (Something rarely done these days voluntarily?).
2. Physically uses modern western anatomy for the location of their pressure points and areas of sensitivity!
Applied massage not much different from Western style on joints, tendons and muscles!
3. Other factors such as auto-suggestion in soothing the fevered brow and relaxation of the body by massaging the Lower leg and foot, (Nothing wrong in this, in fact it can be very beneficial! It can be a disadvantage in Chiropody though when the patient needs to remain awake so that she can scream if you get to close to something!!! Many a one of mine drop off! Can be much better than anaesthetic though when it's the corner of a Hallux nail being curved!
'It's called the Placebo Effect you know!'
Old fashioned 'Mind over Matter, sorry Body!
1. Forget about the Zone Theory etc.
2. Forget about the Mythology of the Egyptian Gods or what you think you can see in the tomb paintings! Simply return to the old principles of massage. If I can put a patient to sleep just talking to her with foot manipulation, so should you! (Now don't be like that Felicity!).
3. It must be remembered that all ancient medicines were always based and linked to the religion of the time. Try to remove it and you stood a good chance of been burned at the stake as a witch or worse if you are a man!
A couple of examples,
1. Orthodox Medicine of yore: Culpeper:- 'Rhubarb', Governed by 'Mars'!
Garden Patient's. The distilled water healeth scabs: also foul ulcerous sores, and to allay inflammation! ( Also gets you to the toilet if you get to much of it, quicker than if someone shouted fire in a darkened room! This bit in the brackets all mine!). [Nicholas Culpeper, Complete Herbal, (1707-1778), p249, Ed.1985, ISBN 1 85007 026 1].
Without Mars quoted in the 1700's you could be in dead trouble literally?
2. Zone Theory: Reflexology. A method of massaging and applying pressure to the soles of the feet or the underside of the hands in order to treat all parts and organs of the body. It is claimed that there are connections between each part or organ of the body and specific points on the feet and hands. [Examining Holistic Medicine, edited by Douglas Stalker and Clark Glymour, Ed.1989 ISBN 0-87975-553-9 (paper) Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York. p392.]. This book is anti-complementary!
3. Talking and listening, relaxing the mind and the body will earn your corn as Chiropodists, even if the healed corn will be back again because of the wrong things sticking out of the foot into the shoe sometimes!
Can we as Chiropodists square the circle with ancient religious based myths in Complementary Medicine here I wonder.
PLACEBO seems to be the only logical answer to the above.
An illogical explanation, Zone Theory, boarding on science fiction does not sit well with Chiropody/Podiatry even if there is money to be made out of it?
Regards,
Colin. (Never Politically Correct!).
Last edited by C Bain : 6th October 2005 at 01:31 PM.
Reason: Correct Definition!
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of foot reflexology on fatigue and insomnia in patients suffering from coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
METHOD: This study was a quasi-experimental study of pre-test and post-test design in a non-equivalent control group. The subjects of this study consisted of both the experimental group of twenty-nine and the control group of thirty coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients. Data was collected from December 10, 2002 to February 15, 2003. Foot reflexology was performed for 60 minutes twice a week through five weeks in the experimental group, but none in the control group. To evaluate the effects of foot reflexology, the scores of fatigue and insomnia were measured before and after the experiment in both groups. Fatigue was evaluated by Fatigue Symptoms Inventory. Insomnia was measured with the visual analogue scale (VAS). Data of this experiment was analyzed by Chi-square test, t-test, unpaired t-test and Repeated Measures ANOVA with the SAS Program.
RESULTS: The scores of fatigue and insomnia decreased in the experimental group but not in the control group. There was a significant difference of fatigue and insomnia between the two groups.
CONCLUSION: It is suggested that foot reflexology might have beneficial effects on reducing fatigue and insomnia in patients suffering from coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and can be recommended as a nursing intervention program for patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
Use of reflexology foot massage to reduce anxiety in hospitalized cancer patients in chemotherapy treatment: methodology and outcomes. J Nurs Manag. 2006 Mar;14(2):96-105
Quote:
Aim: To examine the effectiveness of reflexology foot massage in hospitalized cancer patients undergoing second or third chemotherapy cycles.
Background: Since the late-1970s, studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of behavioural and relaxation approaches in controlling nausea/vomiting, anxiety and other side-effects associated with chemotherapy.
Methods: The study consisted of 30 patients being admitted to the oncology unit at a Scientific Research Hospital in Italy. Only 15 of the 30 participants received therapeutic massage. The subjects' self-reports of anxiety (measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) were recorded before, after and 24 hours after the intervention.
Results: There was an average decrease of 7.9 points on the state-anxiety scale in the treatment group and of 0.8 points in the control group (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Reflexology foot massage can be considered a support treatment used in combination with traditional medical treatments and executed by an expert, qualified person to help cancer patients receiving chemotherapy feel better and also cope better with their disease.
In both the studies reported on by News Bot, it would be intersting to see if the the results were so impressive if the control was a standard foot massage (whatever that is) cf reflexology, rather than reflexology cf nothing. we all know pretty much any foot massage can feel good.
__________________ Stephen Tucker Eastern Health
Podiatry Manager
PURPOSE: This study was aimed to identify the effects of a self-foot reflexology massage on depression, stress responses and functions of the immune system of middle-aged women. METHOD: This study was a one group pretest-posttest experimental design and the data was collected from August 1st, 2004 to May 31st, 2005. The subjects consisted of 46 middle-aged women (40 - 64 years) who were recruited from the Community Health Center in Busan city. Subjects were not treated for 4 weeks, subsequently they were trained in self foot reflexology massage for 2 weeks, and then they did their own daily for 6weeks (2 days at the research center, 5 days at home).The outcome variables were measured 4 times, at baseline, pre training, after training, and after the intervention. The collected data was analyzed using repeated measure ANOVA by the SPSS/WIN program. RESULT: There was a statistically significant difference in depression, perceived stress, systolic blood pressure, natural-killer cells and Ig G. However, there was not a statistically significant difference in dyastolic blood pressure, pulse or serum cortisol. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a self-foot reflexology massage could be utilized as an effective nursing intervention to reduce depression and stress responses, and to strengthen immune systems in middle-aged women.
I have a friend who was taking his training in reflexology a number of years ago and asked me if I would be one of his subjects. "Why not?" Now I have to say that many have described my foot as being more stiff jointed and tight than loose. After 45 minutes working on each foot, listening to whale singing ,warblers and waterfalls, in a dark room, I had to be scraped off the bed with a large putty knife. My "cavus" feet almost splashed when I stepped on the floor and they felt quite like heaven. He had to do 3 more sessions and I really looked forward to them all. There is still alot we don't know about the body in general, and it is very easy to poo poo something we don't understand. My comment to the naysayers is don't knock it if you haven't tried it. If nothing else, it is no small thing to have your feet feel really really good.
Cheers
Freeman (recently returned from Playas, Ecuador where it likely has never ,ever snowed)
The aim of this study was to examine whether foot reflexology has beneficial effects on patients with idiopathic detrusor overactivity. One hundred and nine women with symptomatic idiopathic detrusor overactivity were randomized into either foot reflexology treatment group or nonspecific foot massage control group. The primary outcome measure was the change in the diurnal micturition frequency. There was significant change in the number of daytime frequency in the reflexology group when compared with the massage group (-1.90 vs -0.55, p = 0.029). There was also a decrease in the 24-h micturition frequency in both groups, but the change was not statistically significant (-2.80 vs -1.04 p = 0.055). In the reflexology group, more patients believed to have received "true" reflexology (88.9 vs 67.4%, p = 0.012). This reflects the difficulty of blinding in trials of reflexology. Larger scale studies with a better-designed control group and an improved blinding are required to examine if reflexology is effective in improving patients' overall outcome.
As a foot practioner, I do not take issue with reflexology, though I admit I know very little about it. As I understand, reflexologists are attempting to treat/cure whole body conditions, not just foot pathology. I probably would have more of an issue if I was a GP or internist. If reflexologists are curing foot conditions by massaging/pressing on the sole, please let me know where to press.
I think what was therapeudic about my expereinces aznd how it "worked for me" was that each foot and lower leg received 45 minutes of careful massage. I certainly had little hope thought, or care about the rest of my body. I think if those who cast 6-10 patiniets a d ay had someone spend an hour and half massaging those areas of our bodies stressed by casting, on a regular basis, we might well say our mashed potatoes and red wine tast better.
I think the issue of people using reflexology to "cure" conditions falls into the same category of those podiatrists who still suggest that "orthoses realign the foot to a normal position". Certainly, as someone who has used Reflexology for 10 years it was not a view I was taught nor one that is presented to my patients when I first see them. Practitioners certainly need to be more thoughtful sometimes with any claims they make but I was at a chiropody branch meeting last year where a podiatrist who uses an extremely expensive piece of gagetry said that it makes "prescribing orthoses as accurate as prescribing a pair of glasses"
There can be no doubt that the amount of time spent with an individual makes an impact and, provided you can stand your feet being touched, the relaxing affect of reflexology is very good and I'm sure helps in itself. However, it is used much more seriously than that by other "orthodox" health professionals. Two examples of this are a consultant gynecologist who insists all her patients have reflexology when arriving to give birth and also uses it to aid couples struggling with fertility issues or uses it to try to stimulate the birth.
The second example is in the world of physiotherapy. Here a particular Reflextherapy approach has been developed over the last ten years to address those who suffer long term whiplash injury affects. The use of this technique by one of the main developers of it is now forming the basis of a Phd specifically to explore the issue. Certainly in my own use of Reflexology and reflextherapy there have been many who have responded favourablyto the treatments for a wide range of medical conditions and a very senior nurse specialising in bowel cancer / chrones unit promotes the treatment greatly for her patients.
I'm glad research is slowly finding a way forward in this area but I supect it will never really resolve the debate.
Partner-delivered reflexology: effects on cancer pain and anxiety.
Stephenson NL, Swanson M, Dalton J, Keefe FJ, Engelke M. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2007 Jan;34(1):127-32
Quote:
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of partner-delivered foot reflexology and usual care plus attention on patients' perceived pain and anxiety. DESIGN: The experimental pretest/post-test design included patient-partner dyads randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. SETTING: Four hospitals in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: 42 experimental and 44 control subjects comprised 86 dyads of patients with metastatic cancer and their partners, representing 16 different types of cancer; 23% of patients had lung cancer, followed by breast, colorectal, and head and neck cancer and lymphoma. The subjects had a mean age of 58.3 years, 51% were female, 66% had a high school education or less, and 58% were Caucasian, 40% were African American, and 1% were Filipino.
METHODS: The intervention included a 15- to 30-minute teaching session on foot reflexology to the partner by a certified reflexologist, an optional 15- to 30-minute foot reflexology session for the partner, and a 30-minute, partner-delivered foot reflexology intervention for the patient. The control group received a 30-minute reading session from their partners. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Pain and anxiety.
FINDINGS: Following the initial partner-delivered foot reflexology, patients experienced a significant decrease in pain intensity and anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS: A nurse reflexologist taught partners how to perform reflexology on patients with metastatic cancer pain in the hospital, resulting in an immediate decrease in pain intensity and anxiety; minimal changes were seen in the control group, who received usual care plus attention.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Hospitals could have qualified professionals offer reflexology as a complementary therapy and teach interested partners the modality.
I actually trained as a reflexologist with the AOR before I became a Podiatrist. I had turned to a reflexologist myself in a time of illness that orthodox medicine just seemed unable to cure and was astonished by the results. I enrolled on a training course within a week and one year later graduated the course.
When i arrived at Uni for my Podiatry BSc i really wondered if learning in more depth about orthodox medicine would lead me to turn my back on complementary therapies. In fact my experiences as a student and now as a qualified podiatrist only strengthened my belief that we should never turn our noses up at something just because we can't understand it. I have been endlessly amazed by some of things that have happened when carrying out reflexology treatments and regularly find pressure points on my own feet to aid a back ache or headache. My research training on the BSc supported my belief that just because we can't measure the efficacy of reflexology also means we can't measure it negatively either. I'm frankly unsure whether I believe that the therapy is a specific in terms of the map of the feet - I certainly believe further research needs to be carried out using both complementary theory and orthodox knowledge. I can however report great success at helping stress conditions and also excellent results in helping people with sluggish circulation around the feet and ankles.
I sometimes wonder if the most important aspect of the treatment in terms of helping stress problems isn't related to actually getting the person to sit down and relax for an hour something we all fail to do properly. Let's face it sitting down in front a stimulating TV programme is NOT relaxing. I really don't care how it works at this stage so long as we don't make unrealistic and unsupported claims to clients it really doesn't matter so long as they are feeling the benefits.
I like to keep an open mind but also question and analyse everything.
Bottom line is it is very relaxing (unless you're horribly ticklish) and I was very firmly taught on my reflexology course that it is NOT a diagnostic tool!
Hi, Im going to add my 2p worth..
Having been at the giving and receiving end of reflexology, I think that everyone should experience it. I have no idea about how its mechanisms, but whatever it does it puts a smile on your face! I have had some pretty fantastic feedback from a client with IBS, and I know quite a few ladies with RA who felt it really helped them. Some pod-specific research has been done:
Khan SD Otter SJ Springett K (2006) The effects of reflexology on foot pain and quality of life in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis - A case report The Foot, Volume 16, Issue 2, Pages 112-116
Ps I agree with A, its not a diagnostic tool, and I would never dream of using it as such. I dont really think that this matters and as I understand it, it is encouraging the body to right itself rather than being a "cure" for things.
Last edited by Alimcg : 15th March 2008 at 02:31 PM.
Reason: something I forgot to add in
In both the studies reported on by News Bot, it would be intersting to see if the the results were so impressive if the control was a standard foot massage (whatever that is) cf reflexology, rather than reflexology cf nothing. we all know pretty much any foot massage can feel good.
Re: the above, some undergrad colleagues carried out a study with a foot massage control group and reflexology for patients with RA. I believe it's due to be published later this year, although not very helpfully I have no idea where.. can find out though
Ali
The Following User Says Thank You to Alimcg For This Useful Post:
I was pleased to read your post presenting a positive view of reflexology. I graduated from Brighton in 2006 and was part of the group which looked at the effects of reflexology on pain, fatigue and sleep in patients with RA, so I shall be interested to see the results of the 2007 follow-up when published.
I would like to wish you well for the remainder of your course, and good luck with finding employment at the end of it!
Julia
The Following User Says Thank You to podojules For This Useful Post:
I recently had a patient who refused mechanical treatment (foot orthoses) for her 13 y/o son with painful navicular apophysitis. He had significant navicular hypertrophy bilaterally. The patient stated that her reflexologist advised against foot orthoses as it would decrease the control her son had on his bladder. Without an intervention, this boy is going to need either permanent custom footwear or a surgical consult.
As health professionals with a stong grounding in medical science, I think it’s important for podiatrists to be able to cut through the pseudoscientific claims of alternative therapies on behalf of our patients – especially when those claims concern our own ‘backyard’.
The theory of reflexology is completely implausible. It is based on the new-age definition of energy, and describes a mystical force-field of bioelectric energy termed the ‘life force’. This ‘life-force’ is claimed to flow through 10 longitudinal zones - five on each side of the body, with each organ or part of the body represented by specific zones on the hands and feet.
These ‘longitudinal zones’ are not demonstrable by human biology, anatomy or physiology, and I sure can’t recall observing them in wet-lab ! And as for the ‘life force’, well of course it cannot be measured by any scientific means. This is fanciful make-believe, and is completely non-existent in reality.
We all know the positive feedback associated with a foot massage, with increased blood flow and pleasant neural stimulation (why else would so many private practitioners end a consult with this guaranteed crowd-pleaser) but this is not reflexology – it’s a foot massage.
As we know, any randomised trial evaluating the effect of an intervention on pain requires very accurate placebo control, as when a person thinks they are receiving an intervention and expects to feel better, they usually do. Couple this with a foot massage and just imagine the possibilities !
Helen Garner, a prominent Australian author, has recently written a novel based on the experiences of a friend of hers who had terminal cancer. She describes the immense psychological distress and reduced quality of life her friend endured as a result of falling for the charms of alternative medicine as a last resort. The book is entitled ‘The Spare Room’.
Personally I don’t think alternative therapies are harmless - they are misleading. I think health professionals such as ourselves have a responsibility to be less sympathetic, and provide our patients with evidence-based information based on the medical science we all rely on.
I recently had a patient who refused mechanical treatment (foot orthoses) for her 13 y/o son with painful navicular apophysitis. He had significant navicular hypertrophy bilaterally. The patient stated that her reflexologist advised against foot orthoses as it would decrease the control her son had on his bladder. Without an intervention, this boy is going to need either permanent custom footwear or a surgical consult..
Maybe report them for child abuse
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
Threads here at Podiatry Arena on reflexology are not meant to imply its endorsement or not as a science or pseudoscience, but to report on the evidence for it and stimulate debate and increase awareness of what patients are probably being exposed to. there have been several threads on reflexology.
Personally I don’t think alternative therapies are harmless - they are misleading. I think health professionals such as ourselves have a responsibility to be less sympathetic, and provide our patients with evidence-based information based on the medical science we all rely on.
I Agree!
I think a crucial distinction which must be made is between Alternative medicine and Complimentary medicine.
There is, IMO, a place for things like reflexology, acupuncture, reiki, chen balencing, crystal healing, and feng shui as part of a treatment package. Whilst some of these have some evidence, most do not. However there IS a proven benifit to patients from the use of placebo's, particularly in areas where conventional medicine can offer little more help (such as migraine, back pain etc). Placebos can be incredibly effective, even to the point where 2 sugar pills shrink peptic ulcers faster than 1!
If these treatments are carried out to COMPLIMENT conventional care then i can see no problem with them, indeed, i may welcome them.
ALTERNATIVE medicine, now that is a horse of a different colour. When reflexologists start telling patients to avoid orthotics or homeopaths promise to cure aids or give an alternative to malaria suppliments real harm can be done.
As health professionals (and for the purposes of this argument i am including the "alternative" practitioner) we have a lamentable tendancy to run down other professions and areas. Witness the "my insoles are the ONLY ones that work" mindset of some on this very arena! I suspect we have all, from time to time, been guilty of this, however when an alternative practitioner warns a patient off conventional treatment they are in a tenuous ethical position.
I agree with you on this, a main problem arises these days of the lost placebo. It was called the DOCTOR! People believed in him and trusted him.
Then what did we get? The Doctor must tell the patient when and how the doctor considers the patient will die! If he gets it wrong and the patient died to quickly it is the patients right to sue him! And of course now her!
All power to the alternative therapist. They didn't have to tell the patient, they are not supposed to know when their next meal is going to die are they! They can build on trust which has in this 'justice for all society' been lost to politics by the doctors.
By the way two or even three sugar pills are OK. provided they are Green!
Yours in His Name, We are told we mustn't trust in Him either,
The theory of reflexology is completely implausible. It is based on the new-age definition of energy, and describes a mystical force-field of bioelectric energy termed the ‘life force’. This ‘life-force’ is claimed to flow through 10 longitudinal zones - five on each side of the body, with each organ or part of the body represented by specific zones on the hands and feet.
These ‘longitudinal zones’ are not demonstrable by human biology, anatomy or physiology, and I sure can’t recall observing them in wet-lab ! And as for the ‘life force’, well of course it cannot be measured by any scientific means. This is fanciful make-believe, and is completely non-existent in reality.
Andrew,
Thanks for the explanation of reflexology. I have always thought that it was nonsense, but after your explanation, I am not so sure.
Anatomically, the 5 zones makes sense.
As you remember, in a different thread, I talked about the fascial trains and how this is where the acupuncture system is. It just so happens that there are 5 fascial trains in the foot. And yes, they connect with the rest of the body. http://www.anatomytrains.com/uploads...nsOverview.pdf
Start at the 12th page.
Reflexology
), could be viewed as essentailly holographic. Access it at any point and you access not a part but a whole - hence my term of access therapy. Whatever energy hands on therapy you use you are simply accessing and influencing information. 
Re: Reflexology
Linear Mode
