Reflexology

The Origins of Reflexology

Reflexology is known to be more than 4,000 years old.  Paintings discovered in the 'Physician's Tomb' at Saqqara, Egypt, dating back to about 2,300 BC, show an actual reflexology treatment in progress.

The Chinese are also known to have used reflexology in conjunction with acupuncture.  Dr Wang-Wei, a Chinese doctor in the 4th century BC, evidently used to position acupuncture needles in his patients' bodies and then apply very firm pressure with his thumbs to the soles of their feet.  This pressure was maintained until the desired therapeutic effects were achieved.

Reflexology as we know it in the West, has its origins in the study of Zone Therapy.  The leading researcher of Zone Therapy was Dr William Fitzgerald.  His experiments in the early part of the 19th century led him to discover that by applying pressure to key points on the extremities of the body - principally the hands and feet - he could anaesthetise an area of the body in order to carry out basic surgery.

A supporter and friend of Dr Fitzgerald's, Dr Joe Riley, was instrumental in bringing Fitzgerald's discoveries to the attention of a much wider audience.  A chance conversation between Dr Riley and Eunice Ingham, a physiotherapist, was to change the direction of Eunice Ingham's life.  She was immediately fascinated by the potential benefits that seemed to be offered by Zone Therapy, and introduced reflexology into her physiotherapy department.  So impressed was she with the results of reflexology, that she started her own private practice in the 1930's.  Eunice Ingham went on to write books on reflexology and opened the first school, specifically to train reflexologists, now known as the International Institute of Reflexology (IIR).

References: Reflexology: A Step by Step Guide by Ann Gillanders, Gaia Books Limited, 1995

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