If you suffer from chronic pain, fatigue or some serious disorder that leaves your whole body achy, there is something that can help with it. Reflexology is a really nice addition to the world of pain management and many doctors and orthopedic surgeons suggest it to people with chronic pain and other pain-related disorders. So here is everything you need to know about what it is and how exactly it helps in pain management.

What Is Reflexology?

Reflexology is defined as a series of massages that experts do on your hands, feet, and even other parts of the body, like ears, nose, neck, and the back, in order to focus on the reflex points and alleviate symptoms of pain, anxiety, and stress.

If you thought that reflexology is a regular type of massage, then it is not. There are experts who focus on different reflex points in your body and said experts are known as reflexologists.

Your body is a whole network of nerves and muscles and bones and tendons. Nerves are the very thin and numerous transmitters that send signals to the brain to tell you exactly what you’re touching and sensing.

Whether you touch something really hot or cold, whether you get a slight shock or a jerk, the nerves zap signals to the brain and register what the feeling is. The same happens with pain too. Pain is a sensation that primarily focuses on discomfort and a very unsettling feeling in your body.

Your body goes through throes of pain and the reason you feel it is because of the nerves. So, in order to relieve pain, reflexology focuses on the nerves closest to the affected area and alleviates the tension and stress in that area, hence reducing pain.

How Does Reflexology Work?

The Chinese Theory

Reflexology is basically a very traditional Chinese theory. According to the Chinese theory of reflexology, there is vital energy in our bodies, known as Qi. When a person falls ill or is stressed, the vital energy is blocked from coursing through the body and therefore blocks healing too.

Reflexology is a way to keep the Qi going in the body by focusing on the stress points and relieving them. They use different pressure points and massage them in order to map out a way for the vital energy to flow within the body and heal all of the disorders from the inside.

The Modern Theory

There is also another theory that originated among scientists. They took a more logical turn on the Chinese belief. Scientists believe that the nerves of the body are connected to different organs in a way. Nerves are like branches that are interconnected with the skin and other vital organs.

Also, the nervous system tends to respond differently to different touches and sensations. So, reflexology is a way of alleviating the central nervous system by aiming for the reflex points in the body. This allows the organs to be relieved of any tension and stress too, hence leading to alleviation of the symptoms and even pain.

It is kind of like soothing the natural reflexes of the nerves by massaging them in a way to target the symptoms they’re feeling. According to this belief, reflexology can hypothetically work on:

• People who suffer from stress and anxiety.
• People with chronic body pain issues.
• Patients with debilitating diseases like cancer and back pain.
• Women with hormonal imbalance and PMS pain.

Even though most people believe in reflexology, it is different from having solid evidence. So, while this is still a vast area of research, there aren’t any solid convictions that reflexology can diminish these disorders once and for all.

Benefits Of Reflexology

So, now that you know what reflexology is and how it works, the next thing to discuss is the potential benefits of this hypothetical pain management technique. Here are some of the benefits reflexology can have.

Reduces Pain

Reflexology is a very scarcely researched topic in the field of medicine and pain management, but the studies that were conducted over the past few years have found that reflexology does reduce pain.

Whether it be chronic pain, pain of menstruation in women as well as PMS and even radiating pains that occur during the wintertime, reflexology can show a great degree of decrease in the symptoms. For example, if your have chronic back pain, you can consider reflexology after consulting with your spine and back doctor Woodbridge.

Certain reflexology of the hands and feet and wherever the pain is, can have lasting effects of relief in pain. Even though it’s no magic trick, it does help to alleviate the tension in the muscles and the nerves to really ease the pain that occurs in the taut muscles and affected areas of the body. So, reflexology does work.

Lowers Anxiety

Reflexology helps to relieve the nerves of the body by focusing on certain reflex points in the body. Well, this has been proven to lessen anxiety to a great extent. When you’re anxious or stressed, your entire body feels the effects and you feel more fatigued and which can cause pain in a lot of parts of your body too.

Well, with reflexology, when the nerves are relieved, the stress is released too. It is a very relaxing way to just close your eyes, feel the movement, and breathe and that is enough to lower your anxiety levels to a minimum.

Reduces The Intensity Of Symptoms

Lastly, if you suffer from headaches, migraines, chronic pain, acute pain, back pain, or joint pain, reflexology, other pain management methods, and your current mode of treatment can help to alleviate the symptoms of your disorder or the problem you’re feeling.

Pain makes everything all the more worse, but when your reflex points are targeted and massaged, it really does help to temporarily relieve the symptoms, sometimes by 20 to 30%. So, even though reflexology is not exactly a treatment mode, it can be used in combination with other things to decrease the intensity of the symptoms and let you come back to normal life.

Reflexology & Pain – Does It Help?

Massages are known to help alleviate the pain, but again, it is a temporary solution. Reflexology is worth a try and it is not harmful or damaging by any means, since it is pretty much non-invasive and very safe for all kinds of people and patients, but it would be too soon to say anything for sure.

Reflexology is still a vast subject and even though it is not a certified medical treatment for pain, it is worth pairing it with your regular mode of treatment and seeing the results.

You can discuss the possibility of reflexology with your healthcare professional and see if it can help in any way. But it is a fact that, on its own, reflexology can’t make the pain go away forever.

There is still a lot of room for massive research to really get a definitive response to reflexology, especially when it comes to patients with chronic pain and other pain-related disorders like osteoporosis, arthritis, fractures, bone deformation, dislocation, and more.

Conclusion

Reflexology is a very unique way of dealing with pain and, in some cases, it has proven to be quite effective. So, now you have another way of dealing with pain management sans the medicine and shots. Consult a pain management clinic Woodbridge to know about various ways of relieving pain and which options are best for you.