We’ve all experienced it. The numb sensation of an arm or leg ‘going to sleep’. Not fun when it happens while receiving a reflexology session. Afterall, reflexology is supposed to increase circulation, right? Not cut it off!
This event occurs when pressure is exerted on nerves and squeezes the insulating sheath around the nerves. This ‘shorts out’ the nerves and blocks neural transmission. When the pressure is released, the nerves suddenly all begin firing at one. This jumble of uncoordinated signals is a mixture of pain and touch, hot and cold all mixed together, which is why it feels weird and sometimes hurts.
Interestingly, people sometimes report their arms ‘going to sleep’ while receiving reflexology and are perplexed by that since reflexology increases circulation of blood, lymph and neural communication. This can occur if the person has bent their arms to lay across their body, and in doing so, has cut off the communication of the median nerve.
Simple fix: straighten out the arms and lay them alongside the body.
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