Reflexology is a form of 'alternative' or 'complementary' medicine and involves a method of treatment using massage to reflex areas found in the feet and the hands. Most commonly, the feet are used as the areas to be treated.

In the feet, there are reflex areas corresponding to all the parts of the body and these areas are arranged in such a way as to form a map of the body in the feet with the right foot corresponding to the right side of the body and the left foot corresponding to the left side of the body. By having the whole body represented in the feet, the method offers a means of treating the whole body and of treating the body as a whole. This latter point is an important factor of a natural therapy and allows not only symptoms to be treated but also the causes of symptoms.

The method has been used for several thousands of years and is known to have been practised in a similar manner by the Chinese and the Egyptians. More recently, Reflexology was described in the form in which it is now known by the late Eunice Ingham, an American lady, who based her method of treatment on work called 'Zone Therapy' which had been described some years earlier in the 1920's by an American, Dr. William Fitzgerald. The main pioneer of Reflexology in Great Britain was the late Doreen Bayly who introduced the method in the early 1960's and whose great determination to stimulate awareness and interest in the method should not be forgotten.

Reflexology does not claim to be a 'cure-all' but numerous different disorders have been successfully treated by this method. These disorders include such things as migraine, sinus problems, hormonal imbalances, breathing disorders, digestive problems, circulatory problems, back problems and tension and stress. Most people who have experienced treatment would agree that the method can be most beneficial and is also a very relaxing therapy.

See practitioner(s): Ali