THE MAINE COUNCIL OF REFLEXOLOGISTS

Is Reflexology a Medical Treatment? 

Reflexology is not recognized as a medical treatment. TheAMA says that 85% of all illness is due to stress. Reflexology today is practiced as a form of stress management and wellness maintenance. Release the stress and the body will respond. In order for the body to begin the healing process, it must be in a state of rest and relaxation. Reflexology releases tension, improves circulation and normalizes the body function, a complement to conventional and traditional healthcare.

The following Medical Centers statements are their own findings and opinions: 

Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Cancer center states: A reflexology session is deeply relaxing and helps to reduce stress, relieve pain, increase circulation, and enhance well-being.

Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine states:
The benefits (of reflexology) include reduction in tension and stress, increased vascular, neural and lymphatic circulation and the releasing of toxins. Research has shown that blood pressure can actually decrease during a session!

 

Clients use reflexology to alleviate or manage asthma, sinus problems, digestive disorders, inflammations, menstrual irregularities, pain, fatigue, inflammatory skin conditions and other imbalances. It is especially beneficial for circulatory problems.

The Heart Center at Rita’s Medical Center states: 
Reflexology helps speed recovery and reduces discomfort. Reflexology therapy strengthens and supports the body’s own healing process. 

 

St. Rita’s conducted a three-month pilot study on open-heart surgery patients who received reflexology, and the study confirmed a patient’s level of pain and anxiety decreased significantly. It also helped patients increase the distance they were able to walk, decreased the number of days they were hospitalized and the amount of medication administered during the recovery process.

 

Research Studies 

The American Academy of Reflexology conducted the first reflexology research study to ever be published in scientific medical literature, when the study appeared in the prestigious journal, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 82, #6, December 1993. This ground-breaking study was reported around the world, including in Journal Watch, which is published by the same people who publish the New England Journal of Medicine. 

 

Publishing of the study, and the wide spread reporting that followed in magazines, newspapers, numerous professional journals, as well as on radio, television, for the first time, gave Reflexologists around the world the ability to say, "Yes" when asked if there was any published scientific Reflexology Research validating that Reflexology works. 

 

Since the study was published, many other Reflexology Research Studies have been reported around the world. For any number of reasons, the PMS Reflexology Research Study has helped open doors for others around the world to conduct their studies. 

 

(From www.reflexologyresearch.net) The results were so astounding it is impossible to ignore. To say that reflexology has no basis in science is to purposefully ignore that study and the subsequent studies that followed. Dr. Shewta Choudhary, India, Reflexology and Post Operative Pain [3] Dr. Shewta Choudhary, India, Reflexology and Post Operative Nausea [4] Reflexology Research Study By M. Piquemal, M.D., E.E. [5]