In today’s post, we are answering the question, “Do I have to be ill to receive Therapeutic Reflexology?”
The answer is, NO, illness is not a prerequisite to receive Therapeutic Reflexology.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a wonderful therapy to use merely to relax, to manage your stress levels, and to use it for preventative healthcare and healthcare maintenance purposes.
1. Reason for the Misconception
Therapeutic Reflexology is a recognised healthcare modality in South Africa and formally recognised and regulated by the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA), just like your medical doctor or physiotherapist is formally recognised and regulated by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Registration with a statutory council like the AHPCSA or HPCSA makes it possible to obtain a practice number from the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) which makes medical aid reimbursement possible.
As Therapeutic Reflexology is positioned in the healthcare industry in such a way, it is understandable why some may think that you must experience illness to be treated by a Therapeutic Reflexologist, but it is in fact not so.
2. Therapeutic Reflexology for Health and/or Illness
Therapeutic Reflexology is not a diagnostic profession, but rather a therapy. As a therapeutic profession, Therapeutic Reflexology offers complementary therapy which means it is not a replacement for medical care, but a supportive therapy with a dual function. In one respect, Therapeutic Reflexology offers supportive treatment for illness conditions, but in another respect, it offers supportive therapy that is ideal for health maintenance.
To understand the dual function of Therapeutic Reflexology, it is important to first understand what it is all about. Therapeutic Reflexology is a healthcare therapy where the reflexes (nerve endings) on the feet, and sometimes other parts of the body, are stimulated with finger-pressure techniques. The result is that the body relaxes and stimulates the secretion of good chemicals like endorphins as the body’s innate healing ability is stimulated to assist the body in functioning optimally without blockages.
2.1 Treating Illness
Therapeutic Reflexology does not treat specific illness conditions but instead offers supportive therapy for already diagnosed conditions. What that means, is that then entire body is stimulated through the reflexes on the feet (or other body parts) to assist the body in restoring homeostasis. If there is imbalance in the body, like an illness condition, the theory is that Therapeutic Reflexology assists the body to rebalance itself and to fight the illness condition better.
In other words, Therapeutic Reflexology does not treat the specific illness condition but instead helps the body to create an optimal environment so the body can fight the illness condition more effectively. This makes it obvious that Therapeutic Reflexology is a supportive therapy and not a replacement for medical care, however, it is an excellent supportive therapy.
In my Therapeutic Reflexology practice, I have seen numerous instances where a person would try Therapeutic Reflexology as a last resort for idiopathic conditions where negative symptoms are experienced, but no medical reason or cure could be found. In some instances, Therapeutic Reflexology made a positive contribution, and, in some instances, the negative symptoms disappeared, but in other instances there were no significant change.
Each person reacts differently to Therapeutic Reflexology treatment and the best advice I can offer, is to make an appointment and receive one treatment session and then see how your body reacts and if you will potentially receive benefit for the condition or negative symptoms being experienced.
Therapeutic Reflexology is completely safe to use in conjunction with any medical treatment, but honesty and transparency with the therapist is important to ensure that treatment protocols are adjusted for everyone.
2.2 Health Maintenance
Sometimes a person experiences an illness condition and as part of the treatment, Therapeutic Reflexology is added to the healthcare regime and positive results are experienced. When the illness is healed or the negative symptoms disappear, the person my choose to continue Therapeutic Reflexology to maintain the good health.
In my private practice, I have worked with many cancer patients that included Therapeutic Reflexology as a supportive treatment while they were undergoing oncological treatment. Often the purpose of the Therapeutic Reflexology was to attempt to improve the neuropathy in the feet and/or hands that are sometimes experienced with chemotherapy or radiation, and many have experience symptomatic relief. To put it in perspective, the Therapeutic Reflexology is not the treatment for the cancer because that part is done by the medical specialist, but as a supportive therapy in attempting to alleviate some side-effects. If they experience relief from the symptoms, they chose to continue Therapeutic Reflexology treatment even after the oncological treatment discontinued. Some made the same decision not due to experiencing relief of the side-effect symptoms as some did not have any improvement in those symptoms, but due to experiencing other beneficial results like better quality sleep and so forth.
2.3 Preventative Health
Therapeutic Reflexology is ideal for preventative healthcare purposes where people without any illness conditions are receiving Therapeutic Reflexology merely to maintain good health.
Why this works is based on a bit of physiology relating to the autonomic nervous system. We live in uncertain and stressful times and what the body does when it is in such a heightened mode, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight or flight mode where you become ready to fight a threat or to quickly run away from the threat. This is pure survival, and the body is made to deal with this, but the problem comes in when contemporary living conditions keeps us in a fight or flight mode for extended periods of times because that may result in some negative symptoms. That is common logic because if you must fight a threat or run away from the threat, the body reroutes blood and oxygen to areas that needs it like increasing your heart rate to accomplish this and removes it from places like your digestive system that is not needed in that heightened state of threat.
When you remain in such a heightened state, it may cause extended periods where the parasympathetic nervous system is not activated to move from fight or flight into rest and digest and therefore relaxation and recovery is not promoted.
Therapeutic Reflexology is the ideal therapy to help the body relax, destress and enter the rest and digest state which makes it ideal to keep the body more balanced and potentially prevent unnecessary illness conditions from developing.
Healthy people with no illness conditions and no negative symptoms that may merely live in a high-paced and stressful environment, uses Therapeutic Reflexology to manage the stress levels in preventing illness conditions from developing while maintaining good quality of life with better sleep, increased relaxation and reduced stress levels. In such instances, Therapeutic Reflexology is used as “me-time” that is necessary as self-care in busy lifestyles.
3. When to Consider Therapeutic Reflexology
When you experience no negative symptoms nor illness conditions, you may consider Therapeutic Reflexology when you merely want to manage you work stress, or your environmental stress levels. You may use it when preparing for big life events like exams, presentations, travelling, or upcoming sport events like a marathon or netball game, or to manage general fatigue or burnout as part of your weekly existence.
Some may merely use Therapeutic Reflexology as part of their regular wellness routine and lifestyle, just like when using exercise, a balanced diet or mindfulness.
4. Word of Caution
Value yourself enough to use only AHPCSA registered Therapeutic Reflexologists that are properly qualified and experienced; you will not use a non-registered medical doctor, so do not use unregistered therapists to touch your body. If you want to experience the best possible form of Therapeutic Reflexology, ensure you use the best.
5. Conclusion
You do not need to be ill to benefit from Therapeutic Reflexology because Therapeutic Reflexology can be calming, proactive and supportive for overall health and wellbeing.
Make your Therapeutic Reflexology appointment today!
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
DTR (Cum Laude), PhD, FCMA
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 0737453
Tel. 072-800 7243