An image of the body and its organs on the soles of the feet? Scientifically, this is not proven – yet many patients swear by the foot reflexology massage. It is supposed to have a beneficial effect on the internal organs and any disorders. A study with knee arthrosis gives hope. Learn more about foot reflexology here.
Feet as a mirror of the body
Feet are high-performance means of locomotion, because they carry us in an average healthy life about four times around the world, they complete 10,000 steps a day – the feet of joggers and dog owners, of course, manage considerably more. And they are a mirror of all sorts of organs – liver, spleen, heart, joints and muscles are mirrored in miniature on their soles. At least, this is what many people are convinced of, for whom a massage of the feet does good.
It is said that there are certain zones on the soles of the feet from which there are fixed connections (reflex pathways) to the rest of the body. All organs are said to be located on the soles of the feet like on a map. Anatomically, however, there is no evidence for this assumption. As a rough classification, the toes reflect the head and neck, the midfoot the chest, the ankle and heel the abdomen and pelvis.
A pressure massage – acupressure – has been used as a healing method in China and other countries for several thousand years. The feet are considered particularly suitable for this purpose, as effects can be triggered through them in the whole organism, because numerous nerve pathways connect them with the other regions of the body.
Reflex zones of the left and right sides of the body
The modern form of reflexology can be traced back to the American ENT physician Dr. William Fitzgerald. He learned about the method through Native American folk medicine and developed it further. In the 1930s, the masseuse Eunice D. Ingham took up the concept and expanded it.
Through a pressure point massage of the corresponding points on the foot, the internal organs and possible disturbances of their function are supposed to be influenced via the mentioned reflex pathways. The organs of one half of the body are localized on the sole of the corresponding right or left foot.
Special grip technique
Massage is considered useful for rheumatism, circulatory problems, migraines, digestive problems and metabolic disorders, as well as tension and allergies. Using sight and touch, the therapist creates a diagnosis based on the reflex zones. He examines the soles of the feet for deformations, swellings or skin changes. A special grip technique reveals hardened or painful reflex zones, which indicate disturbances in the body.
Treatment is mainly selective, such as dynamic up-and-down movements of the thumb and other fingers. The nerve endpoints on the foot transmit the stimulus via the sciatic nerve to the spine, and from there the signals are transmitted to the individual organs. The impulses can lead to an initial worsening of the symptoms – in naturopathy almost always an indication that the self-healing powers are mobilized.
Health insurance companies do not pay for treatment
If also the health insurance companies do not pay a foot reflex zone massage, then they evaluate it nevertheless positively. The AOK writes in this regard. “The ideas of reflex zones in the body is not unknown in classical naturopathy: A reflex zone includes all organs and tissues that are supplied by the same bundle of nerve fibers emerging from the spine. Since these fibers all converge in a center near the spine (a ganglion), skin irritation in a reflex zone, for example, can also affect internal organs.”
