Reflexology
is a technique in which pressure is applied to specific points
on the feet (and sometimes the hands) to promote relaxation
and improve overall health. Proponents of reflexology believe
that the foot surface contains a coded map of the entire body
and that particular points on the feet correspond to particular
organs, glands, and body systems. Pressing these points with
the fingers and thumbs is thought to encourage healthy functions
in the corresponding areas of the body.
The precise origins of reflexology are obscure, but ancient
illustrations and other records reveal that Chinese, Indian,
and Egyptian peoples worked on the hands and feet to foster
good health. Modern reflexology grew out of a technique known
as "zone therapy," which was developed in the early 1900s
by American physician and ear, nose, and throat specialist
William H. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald claimed that applying gentle
pressure to specific areas on the hands and feet could trigger
health benefits in corresponding "zones" of the body. In the
1930s, Eunice Ingham, a physical therapist and a colleague
of Fitzgerald, took the therapy, further postulating that
working on just the feet (not the hands) was the best way
to affect the health of the rest of the body.
Ingham contributed a crucial tool to the discipline: She drew
up detailed "maps" of the feet that showed exactly how particular
parts of the foot relate to other body parts. She found, for
example, that the toes correspond to the head and neck; that
the balls of the feet reflect the lungs, heart and chest;
that points on the right foot relate to the right side of
the body and that points on the left foot relate to the left;
and so on. Charts based on her maps are still used by reflexologists
today. How Does It Work? Exactly how reflexology works remains
unclear, although several possible explanations have been
put forward.
One is that the body contains an invisible life force, or
subtle energy, similar to the concept of qi in traditional
Chinese medicine. When this energy is blocked, illness can
result. The nervous system provides a "keyboard" to access,
control, and release the subtle energy patterns. It is thought
that stimulating some of the more than 7,000 nerve endings
on the foot can unblock and increase the flow of this vital
energy to various parts of the body and thus promote healing.
The reflexology theory is consistent with the theory behind
acupuncture and acupressure, in which mapped points on body
parts such as the ear or hand are treated to affect corresponding
remote organs or body zones.
A more conventional medical theory suggests that the pressure
exerted by reflexologists releases nerve transmitter chemicals
such as endorphins and monoamines, compounds that control
pain
