What is the effect of your reflexology work?

 What is the effect of your reflexology work?

We had an opportunity to get a specific answer to that question. What would be reflected by fMRI and a scan of the brain as technique was applied to a specific reflex area?

Planning for the fMRI reflexology research project Neural Pathways of Applied Reflexology included selecting reflex areas for inclusion. The pituitary reflex area was our immediate choice for the first reflex area to which technique would be applied to the feet of study participants.

Within reflexology theory technique is applied to specific parts of the feet to elicit a specific response. While “pituitary” is the name given to the reflex area located centrally in the big toe, what we saw on two separate occasions made us wonder what might be a more appropriate label.

Our observations during the two specific events piqued our interest. Overwhelmingly, however, our decision was based on the possibility of what the technique application could mean to the lives of untold numbers of individuals.

Michael

It was a few days into a visit to friends in a small town in western Ireland. During a late night / early morning conversation, Michael suddenly stopped breathing and moving. While the absence or presence of a heartbeat was not confirmed at the time, he did not respond to shouts and gentle slaps on the face. He showed no signs of life.

Kevin applied pressure ten times to the center of the left big toe and moved on to apply pressure to the right big toe. A faint sound of inhalation was heard and, at the seventh contact, Michael sat up, alert and conscious, and said, “Barbara, Kevin, Deborah, why are you all standing over me? Go back to bed.” He was up and moving within minutes.

We had witnessed sudden cardiac arrest. According to the NIH the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is close to 5% in the US and less than 1% worldwide. In any given year more than 350,000 Americans and 6 million around the world die following sudden cardiac arrest.

 Michael and other members of his family were later diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome. Brugada is a genetic condition where abnormalities in the heart’s ability to beat regularly lead to a high risk for an abnormal heart rhythm resulting in ventricular fibrillation. 

The only symptom of Brugada is sudden cardiac arrest typically during early hours of the morning and sleep. Brugada incidence is particularly high in Southeast Asia. A Brugada wing of a Dublin hospital has been opened in recognition of a high incidence of Irish Brugada patients.

Michael would later receive an Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator to prompt a normal heart beat in event of a disruption due to Brugada. It’s been 17 years. We celebrate the anniversary every year.

What Happened ?

The pressure techniques of reflexology act as stimulus to create response within the body. Application of technique to a specific reflex area creates a specific response.

Consider: the longest nerve cell (neuron) in the body travels from the center of the big toe to the brain stem. The brain stem is the origin of the vagus nerve which monitors various basic mechanism of the body. One branch of the vagus nerve extends to the natural pacemaker of the body, the sinoatrial node of the heart, which sets heart rate.

Our hypothesis: Pinpoint pressure to the center of the big toe stimulated the longest nerve cell in the body creating response and delivering a specific shock to the heart to restore its regular rhythm.

Why does pressure to the feet interact with the heart rate? Pressure to the bottoms of the feet communicates what we’re doing and whether one's the heart rate should increase in response. If we’re sitting the lack of pressure to the feet calls for a more restful heart rate. If we’re walking or running a higher level of heart rate is needed.

The big toe is important to locomotion, literally the last part of the foot to leave the ground during the process of taking a footstep. This initiates an important signal. As the big toe leaves the ground it has to signal the other foot (I’m taking off now, you better be stable) as well as sending information throughout the body. The speed with which the toe is propelled off the ground is an indicator of activity, indicating whether one is walking or running. It acts as an accelerometer indicating how much energy is needed to propel the body along. Heart rate is included among measures pegged to such activity.

A Call for Research: 

The Potential of Reflexology Applied in Response to Sudden Cardiac Arrest

CPR is an attempt to reset the heart beat. What if there were multiple ways to re-establish the heart beat? Could reflexology provide a helpful technique for one of the world’s leading causes of death — sudden cardiac arrest? See below.

Can and should research be instituted to test the potential for this natural defibrillator? Showing a change in heart rate could be a first step. Applying to individuals experiencing bradycardia—a slow heartbeat – could be an initial step to test the reflexology resuscitation technique.

Mrs. Wallace

“She’s dead, she’s dead,” came the cry from another room. We were making a house call and Kevin was giving a reflexology session to the husband of the house. Suddenly from another room we heard, “She’s dead, she’s dead.” It was caregivers for the lady of the house, an elderly invalid who had been diagnosed with multiple strokes and senile dementia.

We rushed into the room as the caregivers rushed out. We found Mrs. Wallace sitting in her wheelchair slumped to one side. Barbara had called 911 on the way, handing the phone to one of the caregivers for address information.

Kevin attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation with no results. We had watched a CPR program the previous Sunday. The program ended with the comment, Next week we’ll show you how to do it. In the here and now Kevin said, “I don’t know CPR. What should I do?” Barbara replied, “Do what you know, go for the feet.”

Kevin applied pressure multiple times to the center of the big toe, the pituitary reflex area, a reflexology technique traditionally utilized for revival from fainting. 

At that point, Mrs. Wallace sat upright in her wheelchair and began moving her feet. Concerned she would injure herself, Kevin bent over the foot rests to get them out of the way to prevent injury as he asked, “Mrs. Wallace, Mrs. Wallace, do you know who I am?” She replied, “Yes, you’re a jackass.” 

From the other room came the sound of laughter. They knew she was back; she always talked like that.

 The rescue squad had been delayed, unable to find the house. The house had recently been repainted and there were no house numbers to guide them. It took them ten minutes to respond to the call. When they arrived they found nothing wrong with her nor was anything found at the hospital. She lived another two years.

Neural Pathways of Applied Reflexology https://www.unmfund.org/fund/npar-fund/