REFLEXOLOGY - ART OF SCIENCE?

I am often faced with a great deal of scepticism where reflexology is concerned. For example, an old school friend once said scathingly, “If I have a headache, why on earth would I ask you to rub my feet?” A convincing response to such dismissive attitudes is difficult. I can tell him that there seems to be a correlation between points on the feet and other parts of the body based on observations made by both practitioners and recipients, but I can’t offer what can be regarded as a scientific explanation. Indeed, anatomists would claim with justification that there is no demonstrable link. I can retort that there are well over 7000 nerve endings in each foot and this may give rise to some correlation that is not yet understood. I can suggest that stimulation of the cardio vascular and lymphatic vessels in the feet and ankles may lead to some, as yet unexplained, connection. I can refer to Chinese Medicine and the meridians through which chi (energy) is said to flow through the body and how releasing blockages in one area can have beneficial effects on another area but what I can’t do is prove the connection in terms accepted by the scientific community.

The case for reflexology being a science is not helped by the variations in published foot charts displaying the map of the foot used by reflexologists. In truth, although always similar, I don’t think I have seen two that are the same. Add to this the reports of different reflexologists finding correlations in different areas of the foot and reflexology starts to look nothing like a science. For example, where there is a problem with the sinuses, some practitioners work on the base of the toes and others on the top both with reported success. The thyroid seems to respond to slightly different areas around the pad of the big toe and so on. Where then is the science?

Science requires demonstrability and repeatability topped with an understanding of the reason that certain results follow. It is said to be objective, a system for acquiring knowledge that helps to form a framework of our overall understanding of the universe.

To defend reflexology to those of a scientific bent, I can refer to the growing body of research that confirm some of the effects and associations claimed by reflexologists and I can take heart from the fact that many in the medical profession are now ceasing to worry about the scientific explanation, being happy to accept the beneficial results. I can refer, also, to the methodology used by practitioners during a reflexology treatment and claim a scientific approach to clinical reflexology in general but, alas, I am a long way from being able to claim that it is a science. More of a pseudo-science some would say!

So does that make reflexology an art? Again, I have something of a dilemma. An art can be seen as a way of expressing or conveying subjective ‘knowledge’ or emotions in order to influence the world around us. It is a method of invoking a similar or sometimes very different or personal emotive response in the recipient. I suppose that can be said of reflexology. Also, when working on a client I sometimes wonder if the area of the foot which theoretically relates to, say the kidneys simply provides a focus for my powers of perception. Does the area relate to the kidneys merely because I make it so by focussing my energy on the kidneys? After all, good reflexologists are energy healers. Without that power, just going through the motions of a treatment will be far less effective. Again, this starts to sound more like an art than a science.

In conclusion, I cannot deny that there is a strong element of the subjective in Reflexology suggesting it is an art, but this should not detract from the observable results that it achieves. I believe there is a science involved albeit that the scientific understanding of this is still in its infancy. One should also remember the element of the subjective or art in all good scientists. A good doctor, for example, is someone who displays more than just the theoretical knowledge of his profession.