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Reflexology relieves bodily pain through hands, feet |
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
by ASHLEY BENNERS
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a five-part series exploring alternative medical practices available in the High Country.
Day to day life is no vacation.
In recent years, more college students have turned to regular doses of medication to counter the toll stress takes on their mental and physical well-being.
For some, however, rest and rejuvenation can be found within.
Reflexology is a therapeutic method of relieving pain by stimulating predefined pressure points on the feet and hands.
 Graphic by Asha Little
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This controlled pressure alleviates the source of their discomfort.
In the absence of any particular malady or abnormality, reflexology may
be as effective for promoting good health and preventing illness as it
may be for relieving symptoms of stress, injury and illness, according
to the Medical Encyclopedia.
Sharon Parton, trained in both massage therapy and reflexology. She
learned the method in England under aromatherapist and reflexologist
Eve Taylor.
“Reflexology was really popular in England in the ‘70s but it makes it
more valid when people realize it has been used for thousands of years”
Parton said.
Reflexology relieves pain through the application of pressure to
specific locations throughout the body located in 10 zones, and each
zone has a reflex area on the hands and feet, Parton said.
“If I am massaging a little toe, I’m massaging every part of the body
along that pathway, clearing energy blockages,” she said. “The Chinese
believe that every disease is caused by an energy blockage.”
In 1938, physical therapist Eunice D. Ingham published “Stories the
Feet Can Tell,” exploring her discovery that pressure points on the
human foot were situated in a mirror image of the corresponding organs
of the body with which the respective pressure points were associated.
In her book, Ingham divided each foot and hand into 12 respective pressure zones.
“Looking at your foot, you’ll notice the side view [instep] is the shape of the spine,” Parton said.
Parton’s practice, Touched with Grace, is located on NC-105 extension and sessions run from $50 to $65 an hour.
She usually spends 45 minutes massaging the feet and 15 minutes on the hands.
“I don’t use massage cream or oil - just the side of my thumb in a
rhythmical, walking motion,” she said. “That way, I can feel and break
up uric acid composites. They feel like little crystals.”
Reflexology shouldn’t be used as a diagnosis, Parton said, but she can
tell where energy blockages are by feeling the uric acid deposits.
“Also incorporated in reflexology are acupressure points,” Parton said.
“Sometimes people work with acupressure points on the ears as well as
feet and hands.”
A woman once came to Parton who was unable to get pregnant and after three sessions that changed, Parton said.
“Reflexology is great for balancing hormones. It can also be used for inducing labor,” she said.
Reflexology can be useful for any age, Parton said, and has no real
negative side effects. However, it is common for the detox to cause a
runny rose or a sore throat for around 24 hours following the session.
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