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Jan 17 2018

The Effects of Hand Reflexology on Chronic Hand Pain

Having gone through a couple of months myself with a chronic pain in my hands, I can sympathize with the subject of this study. As an artist having to use her hands in so many ways all day just to keep her business alive, well… it couldn’t have been easy.

Read how recent Academy grad, Annalisa Derryberry tackled this troublesome issue.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Hand Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Research, Hand reflexology

Nov 29 2017

The Reflexology Study That Paved The Way

Next month will mark the 14th anniversary of the first randomized controlled study of reflexology published in a scientific journal in the United States.

And it’s one that should convince you of the benefit of reflexology for women suffering from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Over 90% of women claim to experience some of the symptoms of PMS, so it’s nice to know we can help. [1]

“Randomized Controlled Study of Premenstrual Symptoms Treated with Ear, Hand and Foot Reflexology” was conducted at the American Academy of Reflexology in California and led by Terry Oleson, Ph.D. and Bill Flocco, the director of the Academy. Academy grads participated to provide sessions over a 6-month period.

Fifteen physical and 15 psychological symptoms were tracked every day of the study’s duration. The control group, which received no reflexology, showed no change in their symptoms; the placebo group reported a 19% reduction in symptoms, and the group that received reflexology reported a 47% reduction of symptoms. That is a significant result!

The results of the study were published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in December 1993. You can read the full report here.

[1] https://www.womenshealth.gov/menstrual-cycle/premenstrual-syndrome

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Research · Tagged: Research

Oct 25 2017

Why Do We Sleep?

In this fast-paced world we live in, some people think that sleeping is a waste of time when there is just so much to do. (I have a friend who believes this.)

I listened to a great interview conducted by NPR’s Terry Gross on Fresh Air on October 16. She interviewed Matthew Walker, who wrote Why We Sleep, the first sleep book written by a leading scientific expert on the subject. I highly recommend listening to the interview or reading the book if you are one of the thousands of people who have chronic sleep problems, and/or are one of us who are getting on in years, or just someone interested in the amazing workings of our brains. This information could change your health and the longevity of your life.

The key points brought forth by neuroscientist Matthew Walker and his team:

  1. Regularity – the number 1 point – go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. Even on days off. Sleep eight hours/night. He shared really interesting results from studies that indicated a link between chronic sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s disease, and what the brain actively does when you sleep (and only when you sleep) to prevent the onset of this growing epidemic. It was fascinating.
  1. Darkness. Walker recommends dimming the lights in the evening as you’re winding down. (You are winding down in the evening, aren’t you?) Not to go from bright lights to the darkness of the sleep environment. No screen time before bed or in the bedroom. Use blackout curtains so that your bedroom is dark. He relayed some interesting information on how melatonin works and the only time it actually helps with sleep issues. Once again, different than what most people think about this hormone.
  1. Walker’s studies determined that if you can’t sleep, it is best to get up, move to another room, read a book (not look at screens) in dim light until you feel tired again; then return to bed. He explained that tossing and turning in bed trying to get back to sleep for hours just trains the brain to associate wakefulness with the bed. The other strategy that worked equally well – and that surprised this scientist – is to sit up and meditate.

I generally have no problem with sleep, but on the rare occasions that I do, I am always interested to note what hours I am awake and why. I believe that my body is out-of-balance when this occurs and am ultimately grateful for the information it is sending me – although not in the middle of the night! For example, recently I did a three-day cleanse, and on the third night found myself awake between 2 and 3am. One to 3am is the time of day when the liver is most active detoxing. Made sense to me.

  1. No caffeine after 2pm. No alcohol in evening. Again, some of the recent science was new to me.
  1. Sleep in a cold room: 68 to 69 degrees. Just pile on the blankies if this sounds too cold. You will fall asleep quicker and sleep sounder.

If you’re interested, here are links to the interview and the book:

Terry Gross interview with Professor Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Research, General · Tagged: Self-care

May 03 2017

Reflexology’s Effect on Fibromyalgia

2016 Academy grad, Antonia Creamer, undertook a tough condition to research that plagues somewhere between 5 to 8 million people; a disorder characterized by widespread pain and diffuse tenderness. You can read here the results of Antonia’s study with fibromyalgia and how you might help your clients suffering from fibromyalgia with reflexology.

 

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Foot reflexology

Apr 05 2017

Chronic Back Pain Anyone?

Studies document that chronic pain affects more people in the United States, and incurs greater costs than cancer, heart disease, and diabetes combined. I’ll repeat that: Chronic pain affects more people in the United States and incurs greater costs than cancer, heart disease, and diabetes combined. There are an estimated 100 million people in the United States living with chronic pain, most of the back, headaches or arthritis. [i]

To compound the problem, opiates and other drugs do a poor job of relieving much chronic pain and can result in serious risks, including addiction.

Two participants in last year’s Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification decided to research whether regular reflexology would help two women who have suffered from back pain for years.

Read Eleanor Miles study here and Rebecca Tate’s here.

[i] Scientific American, December 2014

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Hand Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Research, Hand reflexology

Feb 22 2017

Wake Up And Smell!

Imagine a life devoid of scents: like the smell of a newborn’s head, fresh flowers, just baked bread and/or a wet pine forest. That is what life is like for someone living with anosmia, the loss or impairment of the sense of smell.

Additionally, with the loss of smell comes the impairment of taste and decreased enjoyment of food. That is because our perception of flavor is determined by the convergence of abilities to detect odor and taste.

Kelli Sharping, a graduate of the Academy’s 2016 Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification decided she would like to see whether regular reflexology would help someone who had been living with anosmia for two and a half years, well past the acknowledged time for recovery.

You can read her research case study here.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Research · Tagged: Research

Feb 08 2017

How to Look Smarter, Thinner and Younger.

HOW TO LOOK

10 TIMES SMARTER                                    STAND

10 POUNDS THINNER                                 UP

10 YEARS YOUNGER                                    STRAIGHT

We may not want to admit it, but our mothers were right when they yelled at us to stand and sit up straight!

Research shows that good posture projects health, vitality, and confidence, while hunching suggests weakness, gloom, and self-doubt. Good posture is more attractive than supermodel svelteness. When people stand up straight, viewers consistently describe them as more attractive, regardless of their weight. Studies show that people would be more attractive if they just stood up straight!

The way a person stands also sends strong messages about gender and sexuality. If you look at animal courting behavior, there are two basic postural messages: crouching and looming.

Sexuality, Gender, and Culture
Males tend to loom or puff themselves out. They need to look important to attract a mate. Females tend to do more crouching or making themselves small, which signals submissiveness. The female posture is also an effective manipulative tool that in essence says, “Protect me.” It evokes tenderness in the male. To a different degree, these behaviors can be said for humans, not just animals lower down on the evolutionary ladder.

Although nature dictates a big part in gender roles, culture also plays a part in influencing women to project passivity and vulnerability.

Women develop all sorts of body movements that are meant to make them non-threatening. Shifting one’s weight from one hip to the other signals a woman’s adaptability, “I could be here, or if it’s more convenient for you I could be over here.” Men, on the other hand, stand squarely on both legs. They hold their ground and survey the environment. Their stance demonstrates a sense of ownership.

Sometimes posture sends messages that have nothing to do with sex or gender, but rather are a statement of what’s in vogue. Think: the chic junkie slouch or slink.

Sitting
Working at a computer is a major contributor to alignment problems. The back is under constant stress from sitting for long periods of time. No matter how much you want to put your feet on the desk or curl up like a pretzel, you’ll avoid a lot of back and leg problems if you simply sit up straight and plant your feet squarely on the floor.

Fashion
Two other causes of poor posture are the wearing of high heel shoes that force the pelvis to tilt forward, arching the back unnaturally to maintain balance – and carrying too much weight in a purse. Experts recommend carrying less, alternating the shoulder on which the bag is carried, or balancing a backpack equally on both shoulders.

Sleep
Sleep positions can also contribute to body aches and pains. People who sleep in a compressed fetal position or on their stomach stress the lower back and neck. Sleeping on one side can also put pressure on the lower back, because of the way one leg hangs down in front of the other. If you do sleep on your side, it’s best to sleep with a pillow between your knees. The best sleep position is on your back, using a cervical pillow that supports your normal neck curvature and a pillow under the knees to relax the low back.

Whether you slump for protection, from lack of confidence, poor habits, or just because you’re too cool to care, postures can cause a lifetime of annoying and not-so-annoying ailments. Low back muscle spasms, compressed nerves or blood vessels, decreased lung capacity, neck stiffness, foot pain and headaches are just a few of the problems that can develop from chronic poor posture.

If after sitting and standing straighter for a week or two you find your physical discomforts still with you, coaxing your body out of chronic bad habits and into the proper form may require a little help from a trained professional. Consider using the services of a qualified reflexologist and/or massage therapist to relax chronically hypertoned muscles and learn muscle relaxation and strengthening exercises.

Awareness
Clearly, posture matters. And perhaps the secret to presence-enhancing posture begins with nothing more than body awareness. Awareness precedes all change, so if you’re aware of postures that are non-supporting, sometimes uncomfortable and perhaps even pain-inducing, remember, you have options.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Research, General · Tagged: Self-care

Mar 23 2016

Reflexology, Alzheimer’s and Sleep

alzhiemerAlzheimer’ disease is in the news a lot these days – and for good reason. The incidence of attack is growing at an alarming rate with little recourse for treatment and no agreement on what causes this life-changing disorder.

Leigh Baker, DNP and grad of the Academy’s 2015 Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Certification, offers us a glimpse into the life of someone living with Alzheimer’s and her caregivers in her research case study. You can read her findings and treatment protocol here.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Research

Mar 16 2016

Reflexology for Migraine Headaches

Vice gripIt would be surprising if you didn’t know someone who suffers with migraines. It is a common disorder affecting at least 28 million people in the United States and millions more around the world. The statistics are frightening; the reality of living with migraines crippling.

Julie Wesling, AAR grad, decided to see if a combination of foot and hand reflexology might help a 43-year-old woman who has suffered with migraine headaches for half her life. You can read Julie’s protocol and the results here.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Hand Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Research, Hand reflexology

Mar 02 2016

Reflexology And Constipation

toiletConstipation is a condition that plagues many people, and more so at different times in one’s life.

Women experience more difficulty during their menstrual cycle, people taking certain medications (particularly pain meds) often complain of constipation, and those whose lives are more sedentary – especially the elderly (who may also be taking a number of pharmaceutical drugs).

Although little research has been done regarding the effects of reflexology on constipation, many, many people swear to its effectiveness.

Kelly Estapa, a graduate of the Academy’s 2015 reflexology certification program decided to test the hypothesis with a 6-week case study with an 85-year old subject. Here are the results.

 

 

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Research · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Research

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