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Foot Reflexology is much more than a simple foot massage.
Since it is a treatment that you can benefit from. If you suffer from tight shoes, long walks, blisters on your feet, or frequently spend the entire workday running from one place to another without even being able to “breathe,” I think that all those who have gone through any of these situations have come to believe: “How nice it would be to receive a foot massage.”
More than relaxation or Reflexology as it is also known, it is a therapy that can bring significant benefits to health and daily life.
First, let us see the meaning …
What is Foot Reflexology?
Foot reflexology can not be considered an essential massage. It is made for more than just massage; it promotes benefits such as relaxation and well-being; Reflexology is a technique that uses finger pressure on specific connected points and corresponds to all parts of the body.
The therapist puts pressure that is not so strong and not so soft. The client may even feel discomfort, but the pain is bearable. Imagine a map. Each point of the feet is a specific area of the body. When the therapist puts pressure on these points, both the brain and the nervous system are stimulated, and any dysfunction can be corrected, eliminating the toxins existing in the body.
Now let us see a bit of its history.
There is no consensus on the origin of Reflexology. Many claim that it originated in China 5,000 years ago; however, there are some older records in Egypt, in the tombs and murals of pictograms as they used Reflexology.
However, there are reports on Reflexology in India and Persia. In the middle of the fifteenth century, a form of Reflexology was also practiced in Europe and among the Cherokee Indians in North America.
According to the oriental culture, the feet are used to receive messages due to the passage of the principal meridians responsible for containing the vital energy and circulating the chi. In addition, the reflexes in the feet are naturally stimulated when we stand or walk, which helps to promote physiological and energetic balance.
The first theories involving reflex zones were developed in the West by William Fitzgerald, who divided the body into areas used for analgesia. Over time, through pressure, it was possible to identify possible future failures.
However, Eunice Ingham, her assistant in 1930, increased the studies of longitudinal zones and assigned the feet to the points reflected in different parts of the human body to produce a map of the body on the feet. His work was so successful and recognized that his name was directly linked to the technique of Reflexology.
Indications:
Reflexology can be used as a complementary therapy and help treat various diseases and is also an effective technique to relieve the pains and stresses of everyday life. It is commonly used in the following cases:
Pain: torticollis, back pain, sciatica, sore throat, headache and migraine, muscle pain, stomach pain.
Inflammatory diseases: cystitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, rhinitis.
Gynecological diseases and urogenital dysfunctions: Polycystic Ovarian syndrome, menstrual cramps, premenstrual, sexual impotence, menopause.
Gastrointestinal diseases: gastritis, heartburn, poor digestion, hemorrhoids, constipation (constipation and slow bowel).
Other: depression, anxiety, dizziness or lightheadedness, tinnitus, insomnia, asthma.
There are few contraindications of Foot Reflexology.
We can observe the following warnings
- Acute inflammation of the feet
- Infections and sores on the feet
- Pregnancy (until the third month of pregnancy)
- Thrombosis
- Thrombophlebitis
- Decompensated diabetes
- Medical restrictions
- Serious problems with circulation
