TOTAL WELLBEING

Reflexology

What is reflexology?

Reflexology is a form of Complimentary Therapy consisting of applying pressure to specific points predominantly on the feet.

It is based on the theory that there are reflex areas on the feet and hands that connect to specific organs, hormonal glands, joints and other parts of the body. By applying pressure or gentle massage to the hands and feet can send energy flow to the connected areas elsewhere in the body and promotes a self healing ability.

The lower limbs are particularly connected to the digestive system, and treatment with reflexology for those who prefer a miridian based therapy treatment without the use of acupuncture needles, to help the body restore health.

Benefits include:

Since Reflexology treats the whole person, not just the symptoms of disease, most people benefit from a reflexology treatment. Reflexology brings relief from a wide range of acute and chronic conditions and is suitable for all ages.

- Harmonise your internal organs
- Improve digestive system function
- Balance the nervous system
- Relax the whole body and mind
- Pinpoint which part of the body is stressed

Contraindications:

It is not advisable to have reflexology if you have:
- A contagious or acute infectious disease
- Recent surgery of malignant tumour
- Foot wounds, burns, infection or athlete's foot
- Deep vein thrombosis / phlebitis
- Pregnancy (notify the therapist)

During treatment:

The therapist will apply varying degrees of pressure to your feet and hands to see what is happening inside your body and then will concentrate on working on these afflicted areas. A lot of people can feel very relaxed during a reflexology treatment and sometimes fall asleep during a session.

After Treatment:

After the treatment the therapist can give you advice on your diet and lifestyle based on their findings. Occasionally you can feel tired, headachy or tearful, this is only temporary and part of your body's healing process.

The body has its own ability for self healing, but following illness, injury or disease the body is in a state of imbalance. Vital energy pathways which are blocked prevent the body from functioning effectively. Reflexology can be used to restore and maintain the bodies natural equilibrium and encourage healing.

Fertility & Reflexology - What can be done?

Factors affecting male and female fertility

Infertility is best tackled using a multi-faceted approach with lifestyle, diet changes and introducing more relaxation techniques. This speeds up the process enormously.

CAN REFLEXOLOGY HELP FERTILITY

SEE Hospital tries to boost fertility

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-172952/Reflexology-aid-fertility.html

What needs to be targeted
1. Reducing stress and learning relaxation techniques
2. Learning to quieten the mind
3. Diet
4. Reducing xeno-oestrogens
5. Reducing electromagnetic pollution

1. Reducing stress and learning relaxation techniques
Stress is a major factor in decreasing both the quantity and quality of sperm and female fertility.

During the Second World War, Gestapo doctors subjected prisoners to barbaric levels of stress by firing blank gun cartridges at them. The male prisoners rapidly stopped producing sperm and the counts fell to zero.

The body's nervous system has two parts to it. The sympathetic nervous system, stimulates the heart rate, blood supply to help us deal with stressful situations. The parasympathetic system does the opposite.

Millions of years ago, when we were being chased by a mammoth, our sympathetic nervous system was stimulated. By increasing the heart rate and the circulation it improved the flow of blood, oxygen and food to the muscles, allowing us to run faster. At the same time, it would close down non-essential systems such as the digestive, reproductive system. Once we had run away and the fear had subsided our parasympathetic systems took over, calming us down and returning the body to a balanced state.

Now adays we are no longer chased down the street by mammoths, but we have a more insidious type of stress in our lives, stress that exists over prolonged periods of time. Getting up on time, dealing with deadlines, managing everyone's expectations of you etc. I believe that this has contributed to the explosion of digestive and reproductive problems seen in the last few decades.

Learning to relax is vital. It will allow the nervous system to regain a balance, to allow the digestive and reproductive processes to increase and work more efficiently.

Reflexology can help considerably in this area. Nowadays, most people's heads are so busy. Their minds will often think about 7-8 things and they will go round and round like a tumbler drier. Many people feel imprisoned by their own heads, trapped in their own hell where their brains will not given them any peace.

Reflexology works on the feet, allowing the energy to move downwards, away from the head, to allow people to feel more grounded. Reflexology is wonderful for people who have very busy minds and have trouble calming the mind.

Xenoestrogen

There are chemicals called xenoestrogens that mimic oestrogen. These can be found in pesticides and compounds which migrate from plastic wrappings and leak into the foods we eat (especially high fat/oily foods). Research indicates these can adversely affect the reproductive system of animals and humans.

Low levels of exposure affects sperm levels and also disrupts wildlife reproduction. Animal studies over the last decade show bizarre reproductive anomalies, including an epidemic of penile malformations among alligators in the Everglades. In the Great Lakes, fish populations have become hermaphroditic, with males developing female genitalia. Studies in England document similar gender-bending changes all in waterways contaminated with xenoestrogens, some of which are not necessarily pollutants.

What can be done?

Try and store food in glass instead of plastic containers and avoid cling film touching the food you are storing.

Water can be filtered using reverse osmosis filters which eliminate all imperfections in the water including lead, copper, arsenic, cadmium, chlorine, giardia, pesticides, salt, trihalomethanes, sulfates, cysts, and nitrates.

Endometriosis

Many women with endometriosis are told that there are no cure and are given tools to manage the disease, not to deal with its cause.

When we are chronically ill, we feel that illness is something that happens to us, we feel powerless at times to control it and become passive. However, this is never the case. We have the power to change anything in our body, we just need to discover the tools to do so.

By working together, you can reclaim control of your body, by giving you the tools to create the right environment for you to grow and expand to your full potential. What is it?
The womb is an amazing place. A place which acts as a food source and nest area for a fertilised egg.

Each month, the womb is prepared for pregnancy. The endometrial tissues (tissues found in the womb) grow, however if no egg is fertilised then this tissue is shed (during your period) and then reforms in preparation for pregnancy next month.

In endometriosis, the tissue normally expelled by the body during menstruation, does not leave but attaches to other parts of the body. The most common adhesions are to other organs, like the ovaries, bowels, fallopian tubes, bladder and pelvic floor. Migration to places outside of the pelvic area is uncommon.

This misplaced tissue will respond to the menstrual cycle in the same way that the endometrial tissue does: each month the tissue builds up, breaks down, and sheds, causing a variety of symptoms.

Symptoms

These endometrial deposits outside of the uterus can grow and eventually bind organs of the pelvic area together, resulting in much pain and discomfort.

Endometriosis can have many symptoms, which makes diagnosis difficult. It is commonly misdiagnosed and research has shown that it can take 7 years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

-Uterus pain
- Lower back pain
- PMS
- Bloating
- Cramps
- A history of frequent vaginal infections.
- "Chocolate" Cysts
- Painful intercourse
- Excessive bleeding
- Urinary pain or problems
- Bowel pain or problems
- Infertility
- Anaemia
- Fatigue
- Chronic Pain
- Hidden symptoms
- Thrush
- Cystitis

What can be done?

Although, no-one is really sure why endometriosis exists, many women fully recover, either through surgery or alternative therapies or a combination of the two.

However, according to Dian Mills (a leading nutritionist in the field of endometriosis) endometriosis symptoms normally return within 18 months after the drug and surgery treatments are stopped. Therefore, it is vital to support any drug and surgical treatments with a more holistic approach.

Regular reflexology combined with lifestyle and dietary changes are very succesful in combating the disease.

Endometriosis needs to be tackled both on a physical and emotional level. The following sections detail factors which can improve endometriosis.

Why does reflexology help?
Reflexology works. Why? Because it works on many different levels addressing the root causes behind the problems, not just tackling the symptoms.

Endometriosis is an auto-immune disease (when the body attacks itself) and as with many other auto-immune diseases, it is quite difficult for conventional medicine to deal with.

Immune system problems tend to be quite complex, often caused by a build up of stress in the body due to physical and emotional factors. Our bodies normally cope very well with what is thrown their way, however after a while, if the burden continues to grow, it can be very difficult to maintain a balance, which will result in illness and fatigue.

Our body is full of nerves and without it we would not survive, since it is the main communicator with the brain. It is like an extension of our brain. We wouldn't feel, see, hear, touch or feel pain or pleasure. Our body would not be able to respond to any of our commands. It regulates our "essential processes" such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion etc

But why am I talking about nerves and reflexology?

Reflexology is a wonderful way of allowing the nervous system to return to balance, allowing functions in the body to return to normal. Once the body is balanced and relaxed it can repair and renew itself. There are approximately 7,000 nerve endings in your feet and reflexology uses specific nerve reflexes (pressure points) to stimulate these nerves and create positive change in your body. It is fantastic for calming the mind, relaxing, balancing hormones and allowing stress to fade away.

As part of the reflexology treatment, we discuss in detail your current health and lifestyle habits to provide you with information and tools to improve your own self awareness of your body's needs to help accelerate the healing process.

Reflexology has also been shown to be very beneficial for many gynaecological conditions including endometriosis.

If other changes are made alongside regular reflexology treatments, this will maximise a woman's chances of eliminating the disease.

80% of the body's immune response is believed to come from the colon. Therefore, our digestive health and diet is vital in maintaining a healthy immune system, imperative for dealing with an auto-immune disease like endometriosis.

The following have been found to be very beneficial:

1. Increase water levels to 2.5L per day.
I know this sounds like a lot of water, but given we are 75% water, our bodies need it to function properly. Fatigue is one of the key symptoms of dehydration. So instead of reaching for that coffee which in fact is a diuretic (which makes us lose more water from the body) try having a glass of water instead.

However, drinking large quantities during a meal is not advisable since it will dilute the digestive enzyme concentration in the small intestine thereby reducing the effectiveness of digestion.

2. Increasing the amount of "good oils" in the body
Essential fatty acids are vital since as their name suggests, they are essential for the body, but cannot be produced internally, they can only be eaten.

They make up about a third of our brain and are the major component of our cell wall, affecting every cell in our body. Our cell wall is our defence network, our transportation gateway to move toxins out from the cell and bring in the good substances.

Why is that so important?

We are just a collection of cells. Our health is determined by the health of our cells. Looking at our body on a cellular level this helps to simplify things and show the fundamental processes.

We need water, food, light, warmth and movement to survive and to have a good transportation system in and out of the cell. If you have a good cell wall, this would allow all these functions to occur. However, if the cell wall is mainly made from saturated fats, trans fats and hydrogenated oils, the cell wall becomes a more solid, dense structure, no longer flexible enough to allow the light in, to allow things to move in and out quickly and easily, creating stagnation. With decreased light, we become colder and body temperature and metabolism become affected.

Saturated fats include: animal fats, dairy fats and coconut oil. These have been found to increase menstrual cramps. (see Study 1 - below)

The best forms of essential fatty acids are found in fish (Salmon, Mackerel, Herring and Sardines), flaxseed, linseed, walnut and green leafy vegetables, which are all examples of Omega 3. There are other types of oils (Omega 6 & 9), however, most modern diets have sufficient levels of these but insufficient levels of Omega 3.

Essential fatty acids are easily destroyed and light can cause the oils to become rancid. They are very delicate and can easily become unstable.

Therefore, it is vital to not fry or heat to high temperatures any oils which are liquid at room temperature. At high temperatures, oils such as olive oil, change biochemically and become are no longer healthy for us. For more information - Fats that heal, Fats that kill by Udo Erasmus is an excellent read.

If you chose to take these oils as supplements it is vital to also take "sulphur proteins" to make sure that these oils are best absorbed by the body. The best form is bee pollen contact me if you would like to order 07979881541 (soon to be abvailable in a webshop). Alternatively, take them with a protein rich meal.

Published Reflexology Research

Digestive Disorders

Constipation

Study 1-

42 women aged 20-60 participated in a study to see the impact of reflexology on chronic constipation. The average number of days between bowel movements were reduced from 4.4 days to 1.8 days after reflexology treatments were provided. (FDZ-Danish reflexology association 1992)

Study 2-

40 residents of an old people's home had reflexology to see the impact on the digestive process. 20 were diagnosed as constipated and 20 not. 5 days before the reflexology treatment they were all given a carbon tablet and bowel transit time was recorded. All received reflexology treatments for 10 days. The carbon tablet re-administered elimination times were examined. The time between taking the carbon tablet and the last black stool was:

-Constipation group

- (before) average 77hrs; (after) 51.5hrs (33% change)

-Non-constipation group

- (before) average 57.5hrs; (after) 46hrs (20% change)
(Yuru, Yang; Lingyun, Chao; Guangling, Meng; Scuwe, Cao; Jia-Mo, Hao and Suhui, Zhang, "Exploring the Application of Foot Reflexology to the Preventions and Treatment of Functional Constipation," 1994 China Reflexology Symposium Report , China Reflexology Association, Beijing , p. 62)

Dyspepsia

230 people had been diagnosed with Dyspepsia, with the following symptoms: upper abdominal discomfort, bloating, satiety, belching, nausea, acid reflux, heartburn. The following had been ruled out by barium studies, gastroscopy and ultrasonsgraphy: peptic ulcer, gastric carcinoma, gastritis reflux esophagitis, hiatal hernia, hepatobiliary disease and pancreatic disease.

132 individuals were given reflexology for 30 mins once or twice a day for a fortnight. 98 received drug therapy for two weeks.

-The foot reflexology group was found to be: very effective (98 or 74.2%), effective (30 or 22.7%), failure (4 or 0.3%).
-The drug therapy group was found to be very effective (58 or 60.4%), effective (14 or 14.5%), failure (24 or 25%).

(Zhi-wen, Gong and Wei-song, Xin, "Foot Reflexology in the Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia: A Clinical Analysis of 132 Cases," (19)96 Beijing International Reflexology Conference (Report), China Preventive Medical Association and the Chinese Society of Reflexology, Beijing , 1996, p. 37)

Intestinal function

32 healthy adults (19 women and 13 men) were randomly divided into a reflexology and a placebo group to assess the impact on intestinal blood flow. Subjects of the treatment group received foot massage on the zones assigned to the intestines and those of the placebo group received massage on zones unrelated to the intestines. The following items were recorded before, during and after reflexology:

-Blood flow velocity (speed)
-The peak systolic (highest blood pressure)
-Lowest diastolic (lowest blood pressure) in the superior mesenteric artery (in the intestines) as well as the resistive index as a parameter of vascular resistance were calculated.

Results:

-In the reflexology group: During the treatment there was a significant reduction in the resistive index (p = 0.021), suggesting an increase in the blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery and the subordinate vascular system.
-In the placebo group: There were no significant changes in the resistive index in the subjects of the placebo group.
Conclusion: The reduction in the resistive index observed in the reflexology group supports the theory that reflexology improves blood flow in the organs considered to be associated with the specific foot zones, at least during the therapy process."

Diabetes

Study 1-

32 cases of type II diabetes mellitus were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group was treated with conventional Western Medicine hypoglycemic agent and reflexology, the other group with the same medicine only (WM).

After daily treatments over 30 days, fasting blood glucose levels, platelet aggregation, length and wet weight of the thrombus, senility symptom scores and serum lipid peroxide (LPO) were greatly reduced in the reflexology group (P,0.05-0.01), while no significant change was observed in the WM group.

The study suggested that reflexology was an effective treatment for type II diabetes mellitis.

(Wang, X. M., "Type II diabetes mellitus with foot reflexotherapy," Chuang Koh Chuang Hsi I Chief Ho Teas Chi, Beijing , Vol. 13, Sept. 1993, pp 536-538)

Study 2-

22 cases with non-insulin dependent diabetes were split into 2 groups. The patients of both groups had taken hypoglycemic agents for a long time. Reflexology was provided daily for 30 days.

Results: the indexes of the scores of senility, thrombocyte aggregation rates (TAR), the length and wet weights of thrombosis in vitro, and the serum oxidative lipids were measured to judge curative effect.

The reflexology group showed a "marked improvement" with a 66.7% "effective rate" in the measured indices. It is termed a "satisfactory curative effect." The non-reflexology showed no significant change with a 20% "effective rate".

(Zhi-qin, Duan et. al., "Foot Reflexology Therapy Applied On Patients with NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetic mellitus)," 1993 China Reflexology Symposium, p.24)

Study 3-

The blood flow rate was tested by colour Doppler ultrasonic examination before and after foot reflexology for a treatment group of 20 individuals with Type II diabetes and a control group of 15 individuals with no Type II diabetes and no diseases affecting arterial blood flow in the lower limbs.

Results: There were significant differences in the blood flow rate to the feet of Type II diabetes individuals before and after application of technique. The blood flow rate of diabetic individuals was lower than those in the control group.

Anxiety and pain relief

Pain, nausea and relaxation
Results: Reflexology modifies the distressing symptoms of pain and nausea in patients hospitalised with cancer. 87 patients participated receiving a 10-minute reflexology massage.

The results showed treatments producing a significant and immediate effect on the patients' perceptions of pain, nausea and relaxation when measured with a visual analog scale.

The results were so positive that the researchers recommend that further research using larger numbers of patients in controlled clinical trials into the effectiveness of reflexology in alleviating pain, nausea and anxiety in the management of these symptoms by the family at home is warranted.

(Foot Massage: A nursing intervention to modify the distressing symptoms of pain and nausea in patients hospitalized with cancer," Grealish, L. Lomasney, A., Whiteman, B., Cancer Nurse 2000, June;23(3):237-43 (On-line review: "Reflexology Used for Cancer Patients," Internet Health Library, October 11, 2000)

Cancer (Quality of life)
Results: 100% of the reflexology group benefited from an improvement in quality of life: appearance, appetite, breathing, communication (doctors), communication (family), communication (nurses), concentration, constipation, diarrhoea, fear of future, isolation, micturition, mobility, mood, nausea, pain, sleep and tiredness.

An improvement in all components of the quality of life scale was reported in the reflexology group compared to 67. 5 in the placebo group.

This study suggests that the provision of reflexology for palliative patients within the general setting could be beneficial. Not only did the patients in this study enjoy the intervention, they were also 'relaxed,' comforted' and achieved relief from some of their symptoms.

(Hodgson, H. "Does reflexology impact on cancer patients' quality of life?," Nursing Standard, 14, 31, p. 33-38)

Cancer (Anxiety and pain)
Results: Foot reflexology alleviated anxiety and pain for 23 patients with breast and lung cancer. Researchers noted a significant decrease in anxiety for patients diagnosed with breast or lung cancer and a significant decrease in pain for patients with breast cancer.

"This has important implications for nursing practice as both professionals and lay people can be taught reflexology. Reflexology is a simple technique for human touch which can be performed anywhere, requires no special equipment, is non-invasive and does not interfere with patients' privacy."

Chest Disorders

Chest Pain
Margaret Barker, a qualified reflexologist, conducted a small-scale study at the Cardiac Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK, into the effects of reflexology on a group of 4 patients suffering from chest pain.

The patients were referred from a consultant; all had experienced pain for periods ranging between 18 months to 13 years and cardiac catheterizations revealed that none of the patients had any identifiable disease of the cardiac arteries. Furthermore, none of the patients had had reflexology treatment prior to the study, nor were they encouraged to believe that the treatment would 'cure' their condition.

Weekly reflexology treatments were given over a period of 8 weeks and asked to keep a diary to record their chest pain before and after treatments specifying

-the number of pain episodes
-the intensity of the pain
-the duration of the pain.
Results: All of the patients recorded positive results; 75% experienced a complete relief from their original symptoms after 9 months and the remaining patient reported a reduction in pain.

Circulatory System

Cardiovascular system

24 people participated in a study examining the impact of reflexology on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity, blood pressure and sinus arrhythmia. 10 people had reflexology, 10 had foot massage with 4 in the control group.

Results: The reflexology and foot massage groups showed significantly greater reductions in baroreceptor reflex sensitivity compared to the control group. This study found no significant difference in blood pressure after intervention. The frequency of sinus arrhythmia after reflexology and foot massage increased by 43.9% and 34.1% respectively."

(Frankel, B. S. M., "The effect of reflexology on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity, blood pressure and sinus arrhythmia," Complementary Therapies in Medicine ( England ), 1997, 5, pp. 80-84)

Coronary heart disease

58 cases of coronary heart disease were treated with reflexology and 67 cases with pharmacotherapy. 4 indexes were examined before and after treatment for both groups:

-clinical symptoms
-blood pressure/heart rate
-blood fat
-ECG.
After 30-40 days of treatment, average results were:

1. Clinical Symptoms:
Chest distress, angina pectoris symptoms disappeared in reflexology group, unchanged in the pharmacotherapy group.

2. Blood pressure/heart rate:
Reflexology group (before): +185/80 / 86-74 ;(after):+160/75 /72-70 Pharmacotherapy group (before): +180/80 / 78-72; (after):+160/80 /76-70

3. Blood fat:
Reflexology group (before): high in some; (after): slightly changed, Pharmacotherapy group (before): high in some and (after): slightly changed

4. ECG:
Reflexology group (before): slight change in T-wave; (after): remarkably improved ECG, Pharmacotherapy group (before): change in ST-T wave and (after): certain improvement.

Pneumonia (Infantile)

Results: Infants who receive both medication and reflexology recovered from infantile pneumonia more quickly than on medication alone.

Post Surgery

Study1-
A Swiss medical report showed that Reflexology is one of the most useful treatments for post-operative gynaecological patients.

The researchers demonstrated that reflexology enhances urination, stimulates bowel movements and so aids recovery; with less need for medication than patients in the control group.
(Kesselring A. (foot reflex zone massage) Fussreflexzonemassage. Schweiz med Wochenschr suppl ( SWITZERLAND ) 1994, 62 p88-93)

Study 2-
Results: Post surgical patients who receive foot massage and medication report "significantly less" pain than those on painkillers alone.
"Foot Rubs Easing Pain," Third Age. com, December 4, 1998

References

J, Egger I, Bodner G, Eibl G, Hartig F, Pfeiffer KP, Herold M., "Influence of reflex zone therapy of the feet on intestinal blood flow measured by color Doppler sonography," [Article in German] Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 2001 Apr;8(2):86-9. (Universitatsklinik fur Innere Medizin, Innsbruck , Austria ) (Copyright 2001 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg ( Mur E, Schmidseder) PMID: 11340315

(Ying Ma, "Clinical Observation on Influence upon Arterial Blood Flow in the Lower Limbs of 20 Cases with Type II Diabetes Mellitus Treated by Foot Reflexology" 1998 China Reflexology Symposium Report, China Reflexology Association, Beijing, pp97-99)

(Stephenson, N. L., Weinrich, S. P. and Tavakoli, A. S., "The effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer," OncolNursForum 2000, Jan.-Feb.;27(1):67-72)

Zhongzheng, Li and Yuchun, Liu, "Clinical observation on Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease with Foot Reflexotherapy, 1998 China Reflexology Symposium Report, China Reflexology Association, Beijing, pp. 38 - 41

(Liang-cai, Pei, "Observation of 58 Infantile Pneumonia by Combined Method of Medication with Foot Massage," A Clinical Analysis of 132 Cases," (19)96 Beijing International Reflexology Conference (Report), China Preventive Medical Association and the Chinese Society of Reflexology, Beijing, 1996, p. 34)

All material provided on the Total Wellbeing web site is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health program.