Summary
Proponents claim that this system has ancient roots, based mainly on an oft-referenced Egyptian wall painting allegedly showing reflexology performed on royalty. A brief glance at the painting makes clear the depiction could just as easily be a foot massage, splinter removal, or ointment application to an unfortunate pyramid-building injury. Our modern version of reflexology began with a theory put forth in the early 1900s by an ear, nose and throat physician named William Fitzgerald. His "zone therapy" was a credible attempt to find a point that could be manually stimulated as a surgical anesthetic. The work resulted in a division of the body into 10 long zones, each beginning and ending with a finger and toe.
One of Fitzgerald's therapists, Eunice Ingham, greatly expanded his method and changed the main focus to the feet. She postulated that by removing "congestion"-grinding out the painful spots-one could cleanse toxins, repair organs and heal disease. Ingham ultimately became the main promoter of zone therapy during the late 1930s and '40s. In 1961, physiotherapists raised a kerfuffle about the use of the word "therapy" in the name, thus reflexology was born.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Antidote
STILETTO HEALS?
I had the weirdest thing happen to me when I was home recovering from emergency abdominal surgery. I was on bed rest, and I felt a terrible, deep pain under the ball of my foot, running down the center. This lasted for...See the full content of this document
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