Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Shingles +reflexology

© 2006, John Pozniak

I had a client come in yesterday with a new case of shingles.Her shingles were on her abdomen and look quite irritated and active. The shingles were very painful to her.

I have only worked on one other person with shingles. I had had success in turning the reaction back. But would it work again?

Here is a little about shingles from Wikipedia if you aren't familiar with it.

"Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area.[1][2] Typically the rash occurs in a single stripe either on the left or right of the body or face.[3] Two to four days before the rash occurs there may be tingling or local pain in the area.[3][4] Otherwise there are typically few symptoms.[3] The rash usually heals within two to four weeks;[1] however, some people develop ongoing nerve painwhich can last for months or years, a condition called postherpetic neuralgia."

 I had found a very distinct stress cue long the spinal reiterative area. It was quite pronounced about half way down the foot. As I worked on it I could feel it breaking up. Eventually it was flatten out.

I also worked on a part of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve has the impact of being anti-inflammatory.

At the end of the session the shingles no longer looked irritated and in fact looked like they were receding.

I am kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures. There difference was quite dramatic. Well next time...

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The Most Unfortunate Design Flaws in the Human Body

The Most Unfortunate Design Flaws in the Human Body: The Overly Complicated Human Foot



Anthropologist Jeremy DeSilva of Boston University put it this way:

Starting with the foot, DeSilva held up a cast with 26 bones and said: "You wouldn't design it out of 26 moving parts." Our feet have so many bones because our ape-like ancestors needed flexible feet to grasp branches. But as they moved out of the trees and began walking upright on the ground in the past 5 million years or so, the foot had to become more stable, and bit by bit, the big toe, which was no longer opposable, aligned itself with the other toes and our ancestors developed an arch to work as a shock absorber. "The foot was modified to remain rigid," said DeSilva. "A lot of BandAids were stuck on these bones." But the bottom line was that our foot still has a lot of room to twist inwards and outwards, and our arches collapse. This results in: ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, and broken ankles. These are not modern problems, due to stiletto heels; Fossils show broken ankles that have healed as far back as 3 million years ago.


Monday, January 9, 2017

Sensory determination and reflexology


As a part of survival the body must make a sensory determination on whether a demand placed on the surface of the body is benign or a threat. It has a split second to do this. It must first determine where the demand is and then how grave the danger. It does this by activating the sensors in that area of the body. This requires blood and nerve supply to fuel this inquiry and hormonal supply to react to the need for inflammatory responses if indeed something serious is going on.

The simple act of applying pressure to the surface of the body requires this reaction. Increased communication with this part of the body can have a healing effect as blood supply and nerve stimulation help to normalize the conditions that exist.

This reflexive response can be used to reset the stress mechanism.I look at the foot for example as a stress pattern. It can form over a day but also it can accumulate over a lifetime.

The simple act of rolling your foot on the foot roller or golfball can break up those patterns of stress and reset the tone of not only the foot but the entire body. It is a way to quite quickly and effectively put the brakes on not only the stress in your feet but also the stress in the rest of the body.

One thing to remember is that the feet's communication helps set the tension level for the whole body. If the signal is lost the result is simple. We fall down. It is all or nothing situation. The acts of standing and walking require a continuous stream of information to be successful. Any interruption can be castatrophic

Harnessing this sensory reflexive response is a way of focusing on the areas of the body that need our attention It is simple and it puts you in control making you your own body manager.

Reflexology Helping Wounded Warriors

For some veterans the experiences of serving continue after the trip home. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and, for those who have lost a limb, phantom limb syndrome create issues seeking a solution. Research shows potential for reflexology to help. Researchers in Israel and physiotherapists in England demonstrated such potential.
PTSD and Reflexology
It is estimated one-third of veterans who returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. Common symptoms include depression, outbursts, muscle tension, concentration levels and sleep disruption. 
Researchers analyzed results following reflexology work applied to 15 Israeli soldiers suffering from PTSD following the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Sessions of 50 to 60 minutes were applied over 14 weeks. Improvements of 75% to 80% in the common symptoms were found the day after a session. General feelings improved by 90% and medication was reduced by 50%. Improvements were reduced two days after a session and measured at 50%. Day 3 found symptoms back as before. Researchers suggested 2 or 3 sessions a week to achieve a more effective result. http://www.reflexology-research.com/?page_id=117
Phantom Limb Pain and Reflexology
Phantom limb pain (PLP) is experienced as pain or sensations such as tingling, cramping, heat or cold coming from a part of the body that was removed. Some 60% to 70 % of amputees experience PLP. A 30-week study found that reflexology work made a highly significant overall difference and was “effective in eradicating or reducing the intensity and duration of phantom limb pain.”
Seven men and 3 women “with unilateral lower limb amputations and a history of phantom limb pain” followed a five phase program conducted by British physiotherapist and reflexologist Tina Brown at the Prosthetic Services Centre in Wolverhampton, England. 
Notes researcher Brown “Although I do not think that reflexology is the answer to everyone’s PLP (Phantom Limb Pain), I do feel that it is a pleasant, non-invasive therapy that does help in some situations. Another benefit found was that the patients could self-treat after being taught how to use reflexology on their hands. … I would love to see if it helped pre-amputation: i.e. would it help prevent PLP from occurring?”