BBC 2, Alternative therapies - Reflexology

Does reflexology work and if so how does it work? Commenting the BBC 2 program, Alternative therapies 24.03.2008 Article content

• Introduction
• My observation on the BBC2 program
• “Defending reflexology”
• My conclusions
• Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

I have studied and practice reflexology back home, in Romania and in London for more than two years. All started with reading an article of how a woman got well by some condition after having reflexology. I was intrigued and I decided I would take the course so “I know” for sure how this works. I am still looking for my answers in this amazing “world” called reflexology. I have seen different approaches to this therapy in two very different countries and I am very much aware of the huge differences and how people perceive them, yet it is the same therapy. I have not seen anywhere a TV program about reflexology, except in my own country. I was thrilled when today, 24th of March 2008 on BBC2 there were transmitting a whole hour about reflexology. I thought to myself: finally things will be said on the national channel so then more people will be into it. And more people could get help and the whole program may be able to explain directly what reflexology is, and how it can help with different conditions. Reflecting on what was said and showed, I have made some observation from my perspective, as a reflexologist; I made some “defending” points of reflexology and my conclusions of what I saw.

MY OBSERVATION ON THE BBC2 PROGRAM

There were no reflexology session showed. I have not watched a reflexologist giving a treatment to Proff. Kathy Sykes or someone else. I wonder how we can make a point of something when we do not give it a try. The people, the scientists chosen to explain the principle of reflexology have not much in common with reflexology and therefore, they can not make either claims that it does not work from their career’s perspective. The places the Professor has traveled, to find people to discus about reflexology, were not chosen in a fair manner, I believe. The place, area of the world to look for answers of what reflexology is, how it works, the practice are in Eastern part of the world and not necessarily to America. China, India, Thailand and Eastern Europe are places to go and research about this therapy; because the roots are there and because the practice and results are there as well. I could not find the reason she presented the cuddling party in LA. And, as well the research made on massage in Beverly Hills at this posh clinic. Yes, all of us knew the human touch interaction has a great impact on a person from many points of view and therefore improving their “feel good” state. There was no doubt about this, but I was watching a TV program meant to show the human touch interaction into reflexology and not into a cuddling party. I was very disappointed of overall “research” into reflexology and astonished of how easily the TV programs can distort something so old into practice as ancient therapies. Finally, I want to talk about “fear that some of the claims made by reflexologists are a threat to rational thought”. In England no one claims to treat or be a healer. There are just results reflexologists were allowed to show to the public. In countries from Asia and Eastern Europe reflexology is believed to save people’s lives. This is not a threat, it is what patients are saying and giving thanks back to their therapists. There, everyone is free to take a decision for themselves and choose the way they want to get better; and it is not taken as a “threat to rational thought”. There were just results of the practice. What I call a threat to rational thought is not giving the right information about our food industry, our pharmaceutical products and the negative results just these two have on our health. Reflexology does not threaten. It is a non-invasive therapy from which many people can beneficiate. I wonder what scientific research and trials one can get from reiki, crystal healing, metamorphic technique, and quantum touch. These are the therapies I am personally very much interested and believe and tried on. I think it will be even harder to prove how these work, yet I enjoy the benefits in my life every single day. Any successful practice without a scientific proof would have been considered a mystery. Unfortunately, for reflexology, as the presenter could not find the perfect answers has basically been limited it to a very poor conclusion.

“DEFENDING REFLEXOLOGY” from a reflexologist’s perspective

1. FINANCE FOR RESEARCH

2. THE STATE OF HEALTH OF THE PATIENT

3. “HEALING DRAMA” ≠ the environment is stupid (B. Lipton)

4. PLACEBO EFFECT AND HUMAN TOUCH INTERACTION

5. HOLISTIC APPROACH

1. FINANCE FOR RESEARCH Unfortunately, the finance alternative therapies have got in compare with the pharmaceutical companies and national health systems, are far too little for the research to take place; at least, at the same level and number as it takes place for orthodox treatments.

2. THE STATE OF HEALTH OF THE PATIENT More importantly, I think we get people into our practice whom look for an “alternative” after they had tried all they could with orthodox medicine. There is no time left and no more patience for the people. Plus, they come to us, not just with the main condition they were troubled with at the beginning, but with more “additional” upsets which they would have picked up because the abuse of antibiotics, prescribed drugs taken irresponsibly in mixture with stress, coffee, insufficient intake of pure water and sleep, incorrect dietary advice etc.

3. “HEALING DRAMA” ≠ the environment is stupid (B. Lipton) As a reflexologist I use a room therapy at the very best I can. Making my client comfortable is the first thing I can offer and it is part of my treatment. Having a relaxing piece of music, a lamp with dim light or a candle, sometimes is simply a way of showing respect for my client and being professional. I would not keep the atmosphere of the “outside world” if this is noisy, polluted and grey. As Bruce Lipton, a great scientist says “it is the environment stupid not our bodies”. Our bodies are made to be in perfect health but the environment play a huge role in the way we feel and act upon our physical health. By having a good, proper therapy room I offer not a “healing drama” as they showed on TV but, simply a good place for my client to enjoy and recover.

4. PLACEBO EFFECT AND HUMAN TOUCH INTERACTION Both of them have an important role to play in the reflexology treatment. As well as, when taking them out of the equation, still the reflexology has good results in improving someone’s state of health; and here I am referring to very skeptical people for whom placebo effect and human touch interaction has no impact. So, my demand is that, it must be more about reflexology than these two points. And one more time I want to pay attention that, as a reflexologist, I focus on power of touch on the feet, where the main area I work on is, and not any sort of touch, anywhere on the body like body massage or a cuddling party. We talk about feet being touched very rarely and the importance of this therapy of taking care of the feet.

5. HOLISTIC APPROACH Reflexology and many other alternative therapies are bringing into consideration something called “holistic approach”. This means taking care of the whole physical body plus the emotions. More others therapies consider holistic the followings: to balance the chakras systems, spiritual healing, nutritional balance, breathing techniques, healing the old traumas starting with the gestational period of the person and many more! It is a lot to consider on many levels when it comes to “treat” someone. But I think reflexologists, or at least myself, take in equation of the holistic approach the followings: the relaxation techniques, the basic nutritional advice, I may want my patients to consider during the treatment and when the case is, the emotional problems which could have caused the disturbances in the physical body. No matter the holistic approach, which can vary on a very large scale form one person to another, it is the willingness of the person who seeks the treatment to recover, to come back to good health, which is the most important. Reflexology is not a “miraculous pill” for which if someone will get it will be “cured” of whatever disease and can infinitely continue with habits like smoke, alcohol, unhealthy food, sedentary lifestyle, abuse of antibiotics etc. There is need of responsibility of the patient and I always try to make people aware that they are the only one to have the answers for their health problems. Reflexologists, as many other therapists, are catalysts for the people to reconnect with themselves and the Universe, with our environment, nature. Our bodies know what to do if we leave the space to manifest ourselves correctly. We can heal ourselves. As Richard Gordon, a quantum touch teacher was saying, a healer is a person who is ill and gets well very quickly. A reflexologist is there for the patient so that to direct him/her throughout the recovery journey. Each and every of us knows how to do the journey. And each and every of us know how reflexology works for them, probably. And there are many ways, as many as people receiving reflexology. There is not one straight answer. Prolonged stress is a great enemy; one which makes us “confused” and takes us from our path to good health. As the orthodox medicine itself concluded, after research, is that more than 85% of all the diseases out there are caused by stress. Yes, reflexology is very much based on relaxation. I always say to my patients to find ways to enjoy their life as much as they can. Any alternative therapy, if it can help them relax is much better than taken a pill for getting away with stress.

MY CONCLUSIONS

As far as I am concerned the matter of how reflexology works is already solved by all the doctors like Sir Henry Head, Sir Charles Sherrington, both neurologists, Dr William Fitzgerald who showed that there is connection between the pressure applied to the skin on the feet and internal organs. In 1930s, Eunice Ingham, a nurse and physiotherapist developed “zone therapy” further and renamed it with the term, reflexology. She observed that hands and feet were very sensitive areas and by applying pressure on these areas there will be a corresponding response on another part of the body. To bring a little bit of anatomy here the nervous system consist of the brain, the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Organization of nervous tissue within the body enables rapid communication between different parts of the body. The nervous system has central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) The spinal cord is the part of CNS which is suspended in the vertebral canal. There are two main sources of sensation transmitted to the brain via spinal cord: 1. the skin – sensory receptors (nerve endings) in the skin, are stimulated by pain, heat, cold and touch, including pressure. Nerve impulses generated are conducted by 3 neurones to the sensory area in the opposite hemisphere of the cerebrum where the sensation and its location are perceived. 2. the tendons, muscles, joints – sensory receptors are nerve endings in this structures, called proprioceptors, and they are stimulated by stretch. Together with the impulses from the eyes and ears they are associated with the maintenance of balance and posture and with perception of the position of the body in space. All this paragraph has been taken from “Anatomy and physiology in health and illness” by Anne Waugh and Allison Grant. As we can read, the stimulation of the skin through touch including pressure, which is part of reflexology treatment, has an effect on the nerve endings found in the skin. Through this stimulation the sensation is transmitted into the body via spinal cord. This is what we do. If this explanation is still not good enough, I presume I have not got another answer. We can also consider the energy channels which many other alternative therapies are based on, but well, it won’t make a scientific explication as this was what the people who made the TV program wanted to find. Reflexology is pressure touch but it is about touching the right points and in the right way. How reflexology works it can be found out from the people who got well after having sessions. The therapist has not got all answers as these are many and different for each person who is treated. It is still reflexology given to all the people, yet it doesn’t act in the same way. Even if we find a scientific proof, it can be applied to a person or a number of people, but for some others the same scientific proof may not correspond. That is why here trials have no point. There are not enough trail research on reflexology but finding a place in America where they had all the money in the world to sustain their believes, it doesn’t prove at all that reflexology is limited to human touch interaction and placebo effect. Look at the rest of the world and see what happens with reflexology…. I think a reflexologist “sees” the person and treats the person from the heart. All doctors treat mechanically and they try to treat, to fix the disease. The person is left out as if he or she is not there to say what it hurts. There are tests and trials for these things, why would we need the person? … Shazzie, was talking about ancient food which we call super-foods and though this foods have a great positive impact on people’s mood and health there are many interests of not accepting the truth. It is the same, I believe with alternative therapies. Reflexology is an ancient therapy. Whether we have doubts or not, there are signs left from the Ancient Egypt, from the practices of acupressure techniques in China, manuscripts which science can not decipher. I wish everyone else in need out there will try them and they won’t give up in their attempt to recover and so to remain just on a base of orthodox medication hoping that by taking the same pill year after year their health will improve; their life can be much better. I think of alternative therapies like the starfish organizations. The NHS is a spider organization which tries to do its best but many times fails. Unfortunately, I think that drugs, medication are not any more the answers to a healthy body. More and more people will realize this and that is why therapies which work in a very simplistic way apparently, will work much better and with no side effects. Alternative therapies have a difficult time to find the finance to support their “believes” but because they are leaderless organization will actually thrive much better in the future; util every one will learn and know instinctively why they got sick and how to treat themselves. Our life is meant to be beautiful and we are here to be happy, joyful and healthy people. It is up to each of us to make the change into us so that we get the best out of life.

Wish you all peace and love.

Iuliana

Bibliography

Anatomy and physiology in health and illness, Anne Waugh and Allison Grant Kevin and Barbara Kunz’s website – myreflexologist.com/control.html where one can find a long list on control studies done all over the world, on different conditions for which reflexology has a very positive impact. detoxyourworld.com Shazzie’s website which one can find raw chocolate and all the other super foods, as well lovely skin products without parabens, SLS and the rest of chemicals which our skin may get intoxicated with The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom – a very good book on explaining the flow of information in our world and the unstoppable power of small organization based on sharing, trust and principles and the success they surely will get into the future Carmen Saenciuc – the wonderful woman who has so much success into bringing reflexology into Romania and helps so many people into despair. There are testimonies on her website of people who got well, revitalsaenciuc.ro for which unfortunately, only I can recognize as there is not a translation of it in English. The biology of belief, Bruce Lipton,PhD - just very necessarily to anyone who’s got trouble in “perceiving the reality” for their benefit

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