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Reflexology and Women's HealthStudies Show Reflexologists Help Balance Teens to Adults
From Premenstrual Syndrome through Menopause, Reflexology helps women through life's many changes.
Women’s Health is one of the most common specializations in the field of Reflexology. Studies show that Reflexology helps to balance the body's systems through foot, hand and ear stimulation. Menstrual CyclesAccording the National Women’s Health Information Center, menstrual cycles range from 21 to 35 days long with the average cycle being 28 days in length. Many women experience uncomfortable periods: cramping, bloating and mood swings. Premenstrual Syndrome can have a great affect on the sufferer. Benefits of receiving Reflexology for PMS were researched in the United States in 1993 and again in 2002 in Korea. A study for Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome, researched by the Danish Reflexology Association showed Reflexology may be helpful for this condition. The Chinese studied foot reflexology for hypermenorrhea, or excessive uterine bleeding. Twenty-eight women enrolled in the study and 82.2% of them found relief from symptoms with no recurrence during the study. (Foot Reflexology in the treatment of Hypermenorrhea: Report of 28 Cases, Zhejiang, China). FertilityThe Danish Reflexology Association explored the use of Reflexology for infertility in their project Has Reflexology an Effect on Infertility? Volunteers had been trying to conceive for over two years and were given 16 Reflexology sessions over an eight month period. Fifteen percent of the women became pregnant within six months of starting their Reflexology program. Another study, this time in the United Kingdom [PMID: 18565520], sought to prove Reflexology’s effectiveness in inducing ovulation in patients with anovulation. Both the genuine Reflexology group and the sham Reflexology group saw an over 40% ovulation rate. Four women in the true Reflexology group and two women from the sham group became pregnant. PregnancyIn the early 1990s Dr Gowri Motha and Dr Jane McGrath researched the benefits of Reflexology during pregnancy. Some women experienced labors as short as two hours. A Danish study in 1988 showed that 103 women, out of 593, used Reflexology as an alternative to pain medications, labor induction and augmenting drugs. Over 80% reported Reflexology reduced their pain. Out of 49 women who chose Reflexology to stimulate their labors, 24 of them required no additional drug treatments. Fourteen women received Reflexology to help deliver the placenta, three women required surgery. (Easier Births Using Reflexology by Gabriella Bering Liisberg, “Tidsskrift for Jordemodre,” No. 3, 1989). PostpartumA Chinese study, Foot Reflexology in the Treatment of Hypogalactia, found ten women that were unable to produce enough breast milk benefited from reflexology. The authors, Zhang Jie and Zhao Tianjun, noted that the reflexology had a rapid effect and avoided the use of drugs which could be passed to the baby through the mother’s milk. Another study sought to explore the benefits of Reflexology on body weight and edema in the limbs of postpartum women. Participants received Reflexology five times a week for two weeks. The Reflexology group lost 3.5 kg while the control group lost 2.3 kg. There was also a significant drop in TG and cholesterol levels in the Reflexology group versus the control group. (Effects of Foot-Reflexology Massage on Body Weight, Lower Extremity Edema and Serum Lipids in Postpartum Women, Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2007 June 13). MenopauseIn the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology a study using traditional foot reflexology and non-specific foot massage sought to discover the clinical findings of Reflexology benefiting women with menopause. In the end both groups reported drops in anxiety, depression, night sweats and hot flashes. (Randomised controlled trial of reflexology for menopausal symptoms, PMID: 12269681). Anecdotally Reflexology has helped women overcome the intensity of hot flashes and the many symptoms associated with menopause.
The copyright of the article Reflexology and Women's Health in Reflexology is owned by Amy Kreydin. Permission to republish Reflexology and Women's Health in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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