That tickles!! (Reflexology)

Member Name: Nat.

Product:	Reflexology
Date:	21/02/02 (266 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An alternative to drugs

Disadvantages: no good if you're ticklish!

Reflexology is one of many alternative therapies becoming more and more popular.It is even recommended by many doctors as an alternative to drugs. Treatment is available for many conditions, and you can also have a general treatment which will relax you and may even pick up on underlying problems you were previously unaware of.

All the treatment involves is a foot massage, which, for almost everyone is a really pleasant experience. Different areas of the foot are linked to different parts of the body. The reflexologist is trained in anatomy and physiology aswell as the actual structure of the foot, so that they know exactly which part of the body they are treating at any given time.

There can be parts of the foot which are incredibly painful during treatment. This is very rarely anything to do with having something wrong with your foot, but is usually due to an ailment in the part of the body which that area on the foot is linked to.

The reflexologist will gently work on the painful area of the foot, massaging it until the pain in the foot goes away. This does not mean that the ailment in the part of the body it is linked to is cured, but it should relieve tension, and can also relieve pain in that area. The idea of the treatment is that it stimulates th body to heal any problems itself without the aid of drugs.

You may find that the area of the foot connected to the part of the body with which you are having problems does not give you any pain when it is touched. It may just be a strange sensation felt running through the foot to that area of the body, which, strangely enough, the reflexologist may also feel from you!

Although refrlexologists mainly concentrate on the feet, they are also trained to give treatment using your hands instead. This may be more suitable for people with painful skin conditions or bunions on their feet, or for people like me....

You may be wondering why I seem to know quite a bit
about this treatment, yet I haven't mentioned my own experience of it. This is because my experience is a little out of the ordinary. My mum is a qualified reflexologist, and during her training and also now she is qualified, she has tried on numerous occasions to give me a reflexology treatment. Whilst she has had a 100% success rate on everyone she has managed to treat, I was, as usual , the exception to the rule.

I am, without a shadow of a doubt, the most ticklish person I have ever met. Every other day for a couple of months, my mum lay me on the treatment couch, told me to relax and tried to massage my feet....

The result? I nearly rearranged her face with my foot! She couldn't so much as lay a finger on me without me screaming and kicking and giggling. There was no way she, or anyone else could ever use reflexology on me.

However, don't let my experience put you off. I am the only person she has ever not been able to treat due to my ticklishness. And even then, whenever I need treatment for something, even just a cold, she treats me on my hands instead. In my experience, this is always really good for relief of both pain and symptoms, although most people feel tired the following day, so don't have reflexology the day before a big event.

You should also be told by your reflexologist that you must drink plenty of water for the next 24 hours. This removes the toxins which have been released into the body by the treatment.

The price of treatment can vary from free, if you can either persuade your mum to become a qualified reflexologist, or if you volunteer to be a guinea pig for someone who is training; to about twenty pounds if you go to one of the best qualified practitioners.

I would recommend this treatment to anyone, particularly if conventional medicine has not helped. It can be particularly useful as an alternative to drugs in pain-relief.

Don't let being ticklish p
ut you off, I can guarantee you won't be as ticklish as me, I am the person who can't wear high neck jumpers as they tickle my neck! And even if you are really ticklish, give it a try, they may be able to work on your hand instead.

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