Reflexology is a method of applying massage techniques to the feet and hand in order to influence health and healing in the body. It is based on the idea that there are zones or areas on the feet and hands that correspond with various internal parts of the body. Sometimes the ears are included as a zone. The Reflexology Association of America says that Reflexology is NOT massage and should not be confused with foot massage. Reflexology is a special application of manual therapy that is said to infleunce the nervous system (as does all touch therapies).
History of Reflexology in the US.
Dr. William Fitzgerald (1872–1942) has discovered that zone therapy has been used by Aboriginal American. Jenny Wallace from North American Indians tribes used pressure at the feet as one of the sources of healing process. Fitzgerald study has brought reflexology practice to be widely used in the United States. It was modified in the 1930s and 1940s by Eunice D. Ingham (1889–1974), a nurse and physiotherapist. Ingham claimed that the feet and hands were especially sensitive, and mapped the entire body into “reflexes” on the feet, renaming “zone therapy” reflexology. Many of the modern reflexologists use Ingham’s methods, or similar techniques of reflexologist Laura Norman.Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training Pub Med.
Licensing Reflexologists
Reflexology is often excluded from massage licensing laws or they may have special requirements that are separate or in addition to basic massage training. This has caused a problem in the massage profession as many cheap foot massage spas/offices have opened up using this exclusion to practice massage without a license making it an opportunity for brothels to disguise their businesses as foot massage places and possibly human trafficking. Be sure to Look Before You Book a Massage and check to see if the person you are going to is trained and properly licensed.
The American Reflexology Certification Board certifies people in Reflexology.
380 Reflexology Research Studies Listed by Category
Reflexology Licensing Laws – North Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Washington and Nevada all have specific laws regarding Reflexology.
