Reflexology and chest pain

ALTERNATIVES in health™ subscriber, Margaret Berker, a qualified reflexologist and member of the British Reflexology Association conducted an interesting small-scale study at the Cardiac Unit of the Queen Elizabeth hospital , Birmingham, UK, into the effects of reflexology on a group of four patients suffering from chest pain.

The patients were obtained from a consultant; all had all experienced pain for periods ranging between 18 months and 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.

Reflexology treatments were given weekly over a period of eight weeks and the patients were asked to keep a diary to record their chest pain before and after treatments which specified (a) the number of episodes, (b) the intensity of the pain and (c) the duration of the pain.

Analysis of the data revealed that all of the patients recorded positive results; three of the four experienced a complete relief from their original symptoms after nine months and the remaining patient reported a reduction in pain.

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Reflexology & Kidney Stones

A few years ago, researchers at Glostrop hospital, Copenhagen, demonstrated that reflexology can help relieve the acute pain suffered by patients with kidney stones. 30 patients participated in the study and were divided equally into three groups: one group received reflexology treatment, one group received placebo treatment and the remaining groups were used as controls.

If no pain relief was experienced within 5 minutes, the treatment would end for analgesic medications, but those who experienced a benefit within 5 minutes, treatment was continued for a further 10 minutes. The results showed that 9 out of the 10 patients in the reflexology group experienced complete pain relief after the treatment which lasted for over an hour and in 5 of the patients pain was relieved for 4 hours.

Medical doctors Niels Baekgaard and Vibe Hansen, who conducted the study, concluded that "Reflexology treatment of acute ureterolithiasis has a pain relieving effect" and when compared to Baralgin (a commonly administered analgesic), the findings revealed that reflexology actually works faster at alleviating pain although the effects last for a shorter duration.

FDZ Magazine ‘Zoneterapeuten’ No 6, 1993

Research was carried out between May 1996 and August 1997 in which a reflexologist and a counsellor worked with a total of 74 people (49 received reflexology and 25 received counselling).

The report’s findings based upon the observations of the therapists and the participants indicate that:

• Physical improvements underpinned feelings of enhanced mental/emotional well-being for many participants. For example, the researchers observed that the release of tension through being able to talk led to greater relaxation, which in turn was found to alleviate headaches and improve sleep.

• With the exception of two participants in the reflexology sample, there was a reported increase in relaxation levels and a decrease in anxiety levels.

• The reflexologist noted that participants developed an increased awareness of tension in the body and an increased ability to change that state, e.g. they consciously altered their breathing and their posture.

• Many participants reported improved emotional status. Fear, worry and despair reported at the beginning of the study were considered to have changed into more positive and fulfilling emotions.

• There was a general consensus among the participants that an offer of more complementary therapies would be of overall benefit within the mental health service.

Perhaps the most interesting finding of the study was that the participants tended to make greater progress when reflexology and counselling were offered together, and the report recommended greater integration of the therapies.

Although this was a small, pilot study which by its very nature is limited in value due to the absence of objective data measurements or traditional scientific audit, the researchers hope that it will ‘form the basis for a further controlled research project, incorporating objective data measurements, or a comprehensive audit’.

Peta Trousdell, Andrea Uphoff-Chmielnik. Making connections: user perception of the effects of Reflexology and Counselling: an evaluation of a complementary health care project at Worthing Mind. September 1997.

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Reflexology & Nervous Exhaustion

Recent research from China suggest that reflexology may be particularly helpful for patients suffering from nervous exhaustion.

Twenty patients with a history of neurasthenia (nervous exhaustion) which had lasted between 1 – 8 years were given a course of reflexology at the department of physiotherapy, 52884 Military Hospital.

The patients’ chief symptoms were dizziness, insomnia, memory loss, indigestion and headaches. All had previously received long term medical treatment none of which had helped them.

The reflexology treatments focused on the areas of the feet relating to the adrenal gland, kidneys, bladder, sinus, brain and heart. Those patients who suffered from associated digestive problems were also treated to the areas of the feet relating to spleen, stomach, duodenum and celiac, while those patients who suffered from headaches had the areas of the feet relating to the cerebellum and trigeminal nerves treated.

The reflexology treatments were given daily over a period of seven days and the results were quite remarkable:

40% experienced complete ‘cure’, further 35% had greatly improved, and a further 15% had mildly improved. Only 10% showed no change at all to the treatment.

Duan Shuang-Feng. Foot reflexology in neurosism: Clinical Observation of 20 cases. Presented at the China reflexology symposium in Beijing (July 1993). Reflexology research reports (Association of Reflexologtists) 2^nd edition.

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Reflexology & Recovery

According to a 1994 Swiss medical report, foot 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. Patients who received reflexology treatment also showed a much 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

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32 healthy young adults (17 women, 15 men) participated in a placebo-controlled, double blind trial. The treatment group received reflexology at zones corresponding to the right kidney. The placebo group received treatment on other foot zones. The blood flow of 3 vessels of the right kidney was measured then monitored prior to, during and following reflexology. Systolic peak velocity and end diastolic peak velocity were measured and resistive index calculated.

The two groups showed significant differences; a highly significant decrease showed during and following reflexology. There were no differences between men and women nor smokers and non-smokers.

These results are consistent with the hypothesis that reflexology is effective in influencing renal blood flow and confirms the results of independent research that reflexology can significantly help kidney function..