Reflexology and Pain Management – Part 2
In part 1, I explored what pain was, the pain response and briefly explained how reflexology helps manage pain.
Much anecdotal evidence shows the benefits of reflexology in pain management and several studies indicate successful treatment outcomes including pain reduction. (See references at end of article).
However I would like to focus on one recent study by Dr Carol Samuel and Dr Ivor Ebenezer of University of Portsmouth as this is the first time Reflexology has been scientifically evaluated as a study for acute pain. The results indicate that reflexology may be as effective as pain killers for common conditions such as osteoarthritis, backache and cancer.
Participants attended two sessions, in which they were asked to submerge their hand in ice water. In one of the sessions they were given reflexology before they submerged their hand, and in the other session they believed they were receiving pain relief from a Tens machine, which was not actually switched on. The use of the Tens machine is equivalent of a sugar pill in drug trials.
The researches found that people felt about 40% less pain, and were able to stand pain for about 45% longer, when they used reflexology as a method of pain relief.
So if you are in pain now, by not book a reflexology session.
References
Booth L (1997) Vertical Reflex therapy: results of a reflexology trail in a Bristol residential home for elderly
Khan S, Otter S and Springett K (2006) The effects of reflexology on foot pain and quality of life in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report, The Foot 16 pg 112-116
Brown CA and Lido C (2008) Reflexology treatment for patients with lower limb amputations and phantom limb pain: an exploratory pilot study, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 14 pg 124-131
Hughes CM, Smyth S and Lowe-Strong A (2008) Reflexology for the treatment of pain in people with multiple sclerosis: a double-blind randomised controlled trail, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14(1) S1-S109
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What can assist you with anxiety?
Like most people there are times when I feel anxious. I appreicate I am luck in that this isn't a permanent state. Based on anetdotal evidence I am aware that there seems to be a rise in our clients feeling anxious. So I wanted to share some latest scientfic evidence of what may be able to assist you. Recently researches in Iran conducted a randomised control trail to compare the effectivness of hand reflexology and acupressure for reducing anxiety in patients with coronary artery diseases undergoing procedures in hospital. One hundred and thirty-five women with coronary artery disease were randomly assigned to three groups, receiving hand reflexology, acupressure or a placebo. For the first group, hand reflexology was performed on each hand for 10 minutes. The acupressure was also performed for 10 minutes on each hand. For the placebo, similar conditions to the intervention groups were created, but a thumb touching method was used without applying acupressure or hand reflexology. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire to examine the effects of treatments. The results revealed significant changes in anxiety in the hand reflexology and acupressure groups, when compared to the placebo group. Mean anxiety scores reduced similarly with both treatments, indicating that they were equally effective. So if you have been feeling anxious recently why not try a reflexology treatment or a Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage. To book click here. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6473738/
