Reflexology Statistics

Image courtesy of Praisaeng at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With all of the different types of alternative medical treatments that are out there, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. There are some types of alternative treatments that can easily be dismissed as pseudoscience, with no real positive effect on the human body. Other types of treatments, however, may seem outlandish when compared to the techniques used in western medicine, but in all actuality can be very helpful when it comes to helping you to get over a type of illness. In this article, we’ll focus on the alternative therapy known as reflexology, giving you a basic idea of how effective the treatment is by giving you some statistics that have been collected regarding the practice.

Reflexology is a type of treatment that involves the manipulation of certain pressure points and nerve endings that are located in the feet and hands in order to achieve a specific effect elsewhere in the body. There are several thousand nerve endings in each foot, which mean that they can be helpful when it comes to treating pain elsewhere in the body. Different parts of the feet correspond to different parts of the body due to the presence of certain nerve endings, and reflexologists work to manipulate these points in order to interrupt stress patterns that may be built up within the body. The result is a soothing feeling which often results in an anesthetic type of effective when it comes to pain relief. The American Medical Association has stated that a full eighty five percent of all illness is a result of stress, illustrating exactly how effective reflexology can be when it comes to helping the body to deal with problems that it may be having. Reflexologists contend that by fully relaxing the body through reflexology, it will be much more likely to be able to heal itself on its own. Without a doubt, reflexology has been shown to be immensely useful when it comes to treating pain. A study that was conducted by the American Cancer Society Journal in 1998 showed that a full one out of three cancer patients turn to reflexology in order to relieve the pain that they are experiencing. There are many different types of symptoms that reflexology can help with, and a study conducted in China in 1998 showed that of 20,000 documented cases of patients using reflexology to treat certain symptoms, a full fifty percent found success.
As we learn more and more about reflexology, we have begun to accept it as a legitimate medical practice in the United States. The demand for reflexology practitioners continues to grow by the year, and with 117 out of 125 medical schools in the United States offering courses in complementary and alternative medicine in 1997, it is clear that reflexology is a type of treatment that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Odds are, you can find a qualified reflexologist near where you live, and you may want to consider paying a visit in order to see if this novel type of therapy is right for you.