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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that reflexology does in fact "work" - just am not sure how

67 replies

sotiredofthis1 · 17/12/2015 20:55

Am considering doing a reflexology course next year. I have been interested for a long time but never quite taken the plunge. I have now had three reflexology treatments and I know that at the very least I have felt much more relaxed and tired (in a good way) afterwards.

Have twice told dh that I may be doing this course but he is scornful of the whole thing saying that there is no link between the reflex points on the feet and various organs - as reflexologists would claim. That it is not a pressure point massage that reflexologists offer but a simple foot massage. He also says that it is not "my thing" (as in mine, not his).

The thing is that I am not entirely sure myself (nothing to do with dh's scorn) that I should really do this course so dh kind of taps into my own insecurities. Obviously I have no idea whether there really are energy pathways between the pressure points on the feet and any organs but aibu to think that it doesn't really matter? There is no doubt IMO that reflexology is a helpful therapy in that it helps people relax and a relaxed body is better able to deal with imbalances, than a stressed one.

So I guess I am asking for your opinions - if you have had reflexology what kinds of things has it helped you with. Also if you are a reflexologist - whether you "believe" in the basic premises of reflexology and if you think it is important to "believe" for the therapy to work?

OP posts:

museumum · 17/12/2015 20:59

My massage therapist who is also a friend has recently trained in reflexology and she's not sure she "believes". Her approach to all the various cultural teachings about energy lines etc is to absorb them with respect, use them and let her clients decide for themselves whether they "work". At the very least it's a very relaxing massage on a part of the body which works very hard and is often neglected.

Freezingwinter · 17/12/2015 21:01

Hmmm I had about five treatments while ttc. The strange thing is that each time I had something 'wrong' she picked up on it! One week I had a bit of a dodgy tummy (ibs type thing) and one week I had sciatica and she knew both times.

SandunesAndRainclouds · 17/12/2015 21:09

My reflexologist knew about every ailment without me ever mentioning them.

She also knew I was pg before I'd missed my period. She said that there had been a 'significant event' in my only Fallopian tube and would only give me a gentle back massage that day.

Weird and wonderful in equal measure.

slicedfinger · 17/12/2015 21:13

My reflexologist suggested I had a thyroid problem before my GP did. But it was a blimmin lovely foot massage too.

EastMidsMummy · 17/12/2015 21:29

What a load of old bollocks. Glorified foot rub.

TheSpectreOfMorningtonCrescent · 17/12/2015 21:45

I am the least woo person ever. I had a friend who was a qualified massage therapist and reflexologist. I had a massage and didn't enjoy it as I was suffering from sinusitis. (Chronic, had it every time I had a cold for months)She gave me a treatment, I was still sceptical, but thought ok. As she massaged the bit she said was connected to my respiratory system, I felt all the pain, pressure and congestion drain away. Then she moved onto another bit, big twinge, said I was due on, and I was. Still sceptical, it may be a huge co incidence, but it was damn good.

catfordbetty · 17/12/2015 21:51

It's a foot massage, nothing more, nothing less. Use your money to train in something that's not so patently absurd.

iklboo · 17/12/2015 21:58

My friend is a reflexologist and I was one of her 'student patients'. It was very relaxing, but I can't say twinges or niggles in my foot corresponded to anywhere else in my body

EXCEPT - squeezing you foot either side of the heel, just under the ankle bones feels weirdly nice in your (ahem) lady parts

Tartyflette · 17/12/2015 22:01

My one and only reflexology treatment was more than a bit rubbish, tbh. She asked me if I had liver problems - nope, painful periods, er, no again, other women's troubles (how many times? NO. Uterus, ovaries, tubes, fanjo all fine.) She was so insistent I think she thought i was lying!
To cap it off, it bloody hurt. She said she wasn't digging her nails in but it felt like she was, so I had a good look, and sure enough, I could see the nails going in! And the marks left on my feet. Waste of time and money.

ShatnersBassoon · 17/12/2015 22:06

It is pure bollocks, but it can make people feel better because they feel they're doing something, and someone in a tabard has confirmed their belief that there's something wrong with them but that it can be easily fixed by twiddling their toes in a certain way.

Lightbulbon · 17/12/2015 22:06

I do it on myself and think it does work.

I can press a point that makes me burp!

Freezingwinter · 17/12/2015 22:11

Also wanted to add I used massage on the apparent uterus area and went into labour on my due date. DS was born after an event free labour four hours later.

G1veMeStrength · 17/12/2015 22:49

Both my babies were born a few hours after 'please get out now' reflexology, but I wouldn't say I 'believe'. Just it really is an enjoyable thing, and harmless, and nice, so if the ONLY benefit is having a relaxing foot rub it's still money and time well spent imo.

PlummyBrummy · 17/12/2015 23:18

There was a recent study of pregnant women in Walsall/Birmingham hospital (can't remember which) where they were given reflexology and a large percentage of women who had the treatments found that their labours were shorter and less painful than those who didn't. Sceptical midwives are now very much more open to it's uses in this specific area given the findings in the study.

LastOneDancing · 17/12/2015 23:30

Yes, the birthing suite at Walsall Manor offer reflexology plummy.

I've had it a couple of times and the reflexologist told me a few previous ailments without prompting. I also unexpectedly peed like a racehorse all night after my first treatment - I'm not sure how that can be psychological

If it's something you find interesting and you can afford the time and money, do it. You don't have to be a 'believer' to investigate something.

Lucylongcat · 17/12/2015 23:41

There are definitely areas on my feet which cause a twinge in a totally different part of my body when they are touched in a certain way. I don't know much about physiology, but wonder if nerves lie alongside each other going up the spine, could impulses kind of skip across on their way to the brain? I can't see how this would help diagnose problems in unrelated body parts, but that's what it feels is happening when I touch some specific areas. I'm a devout sceptic and have never had any kind of alternative therapy, but it does feel that there is some kind of sensory linkage occurring.

WhataRacquet · 17/12/2015 23:46

iklboo I've just tried that and it made me want to pee! I must be wired up wrong

IamtheZombie · 17/12/2015 23:50

The central nervous system is a strange and wonderful thing.

Zombie had a laparoscopic liver re-section and gall bladder removal a few weeks ago. She recovered quickly except for a very sore shoulder whick took about a week to resolve.. Apparently that's a fairly common side effect of having someone poke around one's abdomen removing bits of liver.

Zombie also sometimes gets a sudden tingly pins & needle sensation simultaneously in two discrete locations. The pairing of the locations is always the same. For example if location A is the tip of the middle toe of her left foot, location B is always the same point in her left lower abdomen.

These things lead her to conclude there probably is something to it.

ouryve · 17/12/2015 23:54

I knew someone who practised reflexology. She had no idea how it worked, but noticed that everyone she treated farted like a burst balloon and felt a hell of a lot better for it!

WhataRacquet · 17/12/2015 23:55

Zombie it's the gas they pump you up with when doing laparoscopy that causes the shoulder pain.

I love this

mudandmayhem01 · 18/12/2015 00:01

It works because of a placebo effect, this is not a negative thing at all. The placebo effect is so powerful it even works when someone knows the pills they are being given are sugar pills, which I find amazing.

WhataRacquet · 18/12/2015 00:16

This thread has inspired me to use my old Bodyshopfoot roller, it hurts.

Mmmmcake123 · 18/12/2015 00:17

I've had reflexology several times just for fun and always found it enjoyable and relaxing.
Is your husband's scorn related to what you can make financially? If so, he could have a point as I don't think the majority of qualified reflexologists go on to make a decent income from it.
If he is just criticising the values and impact then he doesn't understand that they relate to the patient's involvement.
Whatever he is concerned about I would be concerned that he is scorning something you have suggested. Look after yourself, don't justify and make it clear you will do what you want to do :)

CaoNiMao · 18/12/2015 00:55

I live in China and it's a part of life here.

I have to say, I find it hugely disrespectful when people (including some on this thread) rather rudely consign thousands of years of medical tradition to the junk pile and write it off as 'rubbish'.

ShebaShimmyShake · 18/12/2015 02:10

Someone told me it is all placebo. I can't see the issue. Placebos work.

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