History of reflexology

Origins

The origins of reflexology are quite unclear and reading different books one can be confused. Some authors mention the Chinese as the first ones to practice reflexology thousands of years ago. It is because acupuncture and acupressure are originally from China.

One pretty obvious proof from my point of view is the wall painting onto one of the Egyptian’s pyramids. It is actually a drawing of Ankhmahor’s tomb, the Pharaoh’s Vizier who is the second in rank after the Pharaoh himself.

The time is estimate of 2330BC.

Then we jump to London, 1861 where more interesting things happened about reflexology.
Sir Henry Head, English neurologist (born August the 4th, 1861 and died on October the 8th, 1940 ) proved the neurological relationship between pressure applied to the skin and internal organs.

• he showed that there is a connection between the diseased part of the body and other parts of the body which were sensitive when pressed.
• furthermore he discovered that if the painful parts of the body were massaged, the healing process would be started and intensified.
• he also researched dermatomes. Dermatome is an area of the skin supplied with nerves from one spinal root. As a result all the surface of the body is an interlocking mosaic of dermatomes.
• he discovered Head’s Zone (which should not be confused with Fitzgerald’s Vertical Zones – about them a bit later)

Sir Charles Sherrington (1861-1952), neurologist won the Nobel Prize with his work: “The integrative action of the nervous system”.

• he showed that the nervous system coordinates body systems
• in 1906, he explained how nerves co-ordinate and control body functions and the process by which the brain, spinal cord and reflex pathways control the activities of the body
• nerves are able to transmit signals around the body
• developed the idea of proprioception, which is the ability to sense the position, location, orientation and movement of the body (It is the spatial relationship of the feet with the ground )

Proprioception can also be defined as the mechanism involved in the self-regulation of posture and movement of the body through the joints, tendons, muscles.
A proprioceptor is a specialized sensory nerve ending that monitors internal changes in the body. Proprioceptors are located in muscles and tendons; they transmit information that is used to coordinate muscular activity

Dr William Fitzgerald – (1872-1942)

• “rediscovered” vertical Zone Therapy. This theory says that the body is divided into 10 longitudinal sections (5 on each side of the body). These sections run vertically from the head to the toes or to the fingers. The significance of the zones is that there is a flow of energy throughout each zone and this links all the areas of the body situated in the same zone.
• zone-related areas (cross reflexes or referral areas) – it means that the same longitudinal zones exist in legs and arms.

These are between:

• the shoulder and the hip
• the upper arm and the upper leg
• the elbow and the knee
• the forearm and the lower leg
• the wrist and the ankle
• the hand and the foot

The zone-related areas are most useful as additional areas for treatment for certain problems in the body. Dr. Joe Shelby Riley, Fitzgerald’s student and W. Fitzgerald produced a detailed diaphragm of the feet.

• he wrote “Zone therapy simplified”
• discovered 8 horizontal zone
• invented the technique called Hook Work or Hooking technique.
• worked with reflex points of the ear – auriculotherapy

Eunice D. Ingham – Dr Riley’s assistant.

She used the zone therapy and improved it with her own findings. All her work developed in what is called Ingham method and it is the method on which modern reflexology is based on.
She developed a more accurate diagram of the feet – there are known as foot maps.
She invented the word “Reflexolgy” – first called compression massage
Her method involves “thumb walking” (or a more funny name these days is caterpillar walking) – that means that the thumb bends and straightens whilst maintaining a constant pressure on the area of the foot which is being worked.
She is known as the “mother” of reflexology

Hanne Marquardt – trained with Ingham

• she is the first practitioner in Germany to work with pressure on the feet
• she described the three transverse zones in the body that relate to the levels of the shoulder girdle, the waist and the pelvic floor. These zone are related to the bone structure of the foot

Doreen Bayly – introduced Reflexology into the United Kingdom in the early 1960s.
She developed many charts which are used today

Father Joseph Eugster

Developed the Rwo Shur method in Taiwan. This is a combination of thumb-sliding and pressure techniques. Sometimes there is use of knuckles and small wooden sticks. The pressure is very firm and the therapist uses cream allowing a fast, efficient, flowing motion. The focus on this technique is on stimulation rather than relaxation.

I posted this entry on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 8:24 pm under Reflexology category. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.