Project of pilot and experiment groups
The influence of reflexology treatment on multiple sclerosis patients

By Shmuel Zaidel

Multiple sclerosis is perhaps the most common neuralgic impairment causing physical disability between the ages 15 – 55. This disease is one of the most common causes of mild and severe disabilities. The injured ones are people on their best years –facing new careers, at the peak of their career or before they had the chance to fulfill their so-many plans. The disease, which can come to terms at various severity levels, affects most of the nervous system's sensory functions. To this day, the reasons to this disease are not clear. One of conjectures to this disease is that the disease is the result of rare reaction of the body to recurring infections – resulting with the body attacking itself. The disease attacks and pauses with no warning signs, therefore there is no way to predict the badness and get ready. Various medicines have been tried through the years in order to try and ease the patients' suffering as well as to delay and blunt the processes of the disease's outbursts. The Helsinki committee for clinical experiments in human beings approved a research regarding the influence of reflexology treatment on multiple sclerosis patients. The research integrates two approaches: the reflexology treatments represent natural medicine and the conventional medicine is represented by comparative scientific research. The research's purpose is not to investigate the reflexology's meaning but its influence of multiple sclerosis patients. Combining the reflexology treatment within this group of patients is innovative since it conveys the preventative treatment approach, which is mainly an approach of “strengthen the health” alongside with the approach of focused treatment on the site where the phenomenon appeared, which is mainly an approach of “fight the disease”. Sometimes, each approach stands alone and sometimes they are integrated. Integrating the two medical approaches contributes to a break-through in the medical world, which means integrated medicine for the patients' wellbeing. The emphasis is not on “honor” to the natural or conventional medicine, but an honor to the mutual thinking. There were four cycles: one pilot cycle, two experiment cycles and one “compensation” cycle to the research's control group. 70 senior reflexologists were involved in this research, all of them graduates of the human ecology institute, guided by Shmuel Zaidel.

The pilot project and its conclusions

20 therapists and patients were involved in the pilot project. The technical approaches that can meet the therapeutic needs for some of the disease's phenomenons were examined:

• sensations of sting, paresthesia and “burning” in the feet

• body stiffness and muscular contraction

• problems of urine arrest or urine leak

• hypotonia

These physiological occurrences are a result of an impairment that is created by injury and damages to the myelin that wraps the nerves in the central nervous system. As a result, the nervous transmission to the periphery is damaged and disrupted. In other words, the problem is between the inside and the outside of the body. The damage level of the pilot group's patients was not homogeneous, which was also the situation of the intended research groups. Due to these conditions, treatment methods meant to improve the inside-outside connection – the connection between the sickness and the damaged peripheral organs, between the control centers and the controlled organs – were examined.

About the treatment techniques

The purpose of the treatment techniques, represented here, is to explain the holistic reference to the techniques of the reflexology treatment. Holistic reference means connecting between the treatment's technical performance and the therapist's intentions, to the patient's body and mental condition. The verbal explanation cannot demonstrate the treatment's technical performance, this has to be done during a teacher-student direct meeting. This is the way it was done during the preparation meetings that were held to the therapists of each group during the project. The treatment techniques that were used are a result of the research conclusions and they can be used as a research tool that can be repeated in the future with therapist-reflexologist meetings with multiple sclerosis patients. The treatment technical performance needs teacher guidance.

From inside out and from outside in – the treatment method

A possible way to explain a certain characteristic of the human body's condition is by us being between two poles of “from inside out” and “from outside in”. Concerning the treatment we can talk about problems and diseases of body-jamming and inability to get released and bring them from inside out, or get connected to the feet and problems and diseases of body lacking and difficulties of the body to receive what it needs. Energetically – physiologically speaking, the metaphoric meaning of the concept “from inside out” is with the direction of the arterial blood flow, and “from outside in” means with the venous blood flow and the lymph flow. This research emphasized the outside-in treatment direction.

The manipulative treatment techniques

It is accepted to think that the reflexology treatment should be performed while the patient is at rest, relaxed and ready to absorb stimulus and massages transferred by the therapist. The principle is that as much as the patient's body is relaxed his ability to benefit from the treatment, increases. Sometimes, in certain situations, it is recommended to perform a kind of switch-role, meaning, that the therapist is actively guided in order to consciously “get connected” to his feet, in order to rehabilitate a certain level of disconnection between the feet and the body. The manipulative treatment method is a possible way to provide technical solutions to the therapist. This method's technical treatment solutions of are related to various stages of patient-therapist relations that can be reflected in many treatment manners:

• The therapist brings the patient to him – the passive acceptance technique

• The therapist transfers responsibility to the patient – transferring responsibility technique

• The patient comes to the therapist – active treatment technique

The manipulative treatment method is gradual. It has various stages that enable rehabilitation and gain-control – as much as possible – between the brain centers and the feet. These stages conceal the therapist-patient connection dimensions as well as the patient's internal condition. The progress is conditioned by the patient's mental desire and his physical ability. Since each patient in this research was in some stage of the disease, the ability to lead and promote him from stage to stage is individual. The two next cycles were held as scientific research structure, approved by the hospital's research committee – the Helsinki Committee. The following two groups were defined: experiment and control groups. Each therapist had two patients – one from each group, altogether two cycles and 36 therapists. The project's structure as well as the session's were similar to the pilot group's structure. The practical part was divided into two treatment categories: one for the expriment group and one for the control group.

Thraputic map

Reflection points to be treated:

Hypothalmus
Hypophysis
Thyroid
Adrenal
Kidney
Pancreas
Urinary tracts
Urinary bladder
Sphincters of bladder
Spleen
Liver
Small intestine valve
Sygmoid
Lymph system
Lateral longitudinal lines
Solar plexus
Spinal column
Brain stem
Fingures spirals

Key:

• Black areas - regular treatment

• Striped areas - manipulative to active treatment

Notes:

• Emphasize treatment from knees to fingers

• Treatment order is set by the therapist and changes according to needs during treatment series.

The experiment group

The treatment method that was the result of the pilot group's treatment was implemented upon the research group. The group received the whole treatment, emphasizing the “from inside out” direction, accompanied by treatment map and combined with “the manipulative treatment approach” including its various stages. Each patient was treated individually, in addition to unified treatment methods guided by the treatment map and fitted to the entire group's illness.

The control group

In fact, the control group was a “placebo” group. Since the treatment deals with a kind of treatment that involves body touch, the group members received “reflexology” only to their lower legs – meaning, various kinds of massages to the lower legs.

The compensation group

Another cycle of 14 patients received a full treatment, similar to the research group. In fact, those were the patients from the first cycle who received the “placebo treatment” – the lower leg massage. Actually, there were two dimensions to this group – the control group vs. the research group – that were the same people.

Conclusions extracted from “Shiba Hospital” report in 1997

Out of 36 patients that were recruited to this research, 27 completed the entire treatment series. Demographic variables are shown in table 1. Statistically, there were no significant differences between the patients of the two groups. 4 parameters were measured: frequency of paresthesia, problems of urine arrest or urine leak, muscle tension and contraction – muscle spasm seizures. After 12 treatment weeks, 60% of the research group patients have shown improvement of the paresthesia compared to only 20% of the control group. Problems of urine arrest or urine leak were improved in 55% of the research group. The most significant improvement was found with the mean results of the muscle tension and the contractions of the experiment group following the treatments.

Table 1. Demographic data

Table 2. Comparison of the measurements at the beginning and at the end of the research with the experiment group and the control group

From this table we can see that the most significant improvement in the experiment group is in contractions

Summary and conclusions

Concerning the lower-leg treatment

During the research, the control group members received reflexology treatment that focused only on the lower-leg. In some cases there was a slight improvement and it proves not only the faith in healing but also the need of the real physio-energetic factor of treating the lower-leg while thinking of reflexology treatment in general. Indeed, a research concerning the impact of feet reflexology treatment compared only to combined (feet and lower-leg) hasn't been done yet, but form experience as well as therapist and patient reactions we can conclude about an improvement due to combined treatment. It is only appropriate that such a research should be held.

Concerning the “from inside out” treatment method

Since the “from inside out” treatment is a technical-energetic way of thinking, it means that I don't consider the body's reflection through the feet, and what I do consider is the therapist's intention to spread and turn energy to the body's ends. This approach had a better impact on the urine arrest problem, even though according to the urine system's reflection in the feet, the work has been done “upside down” – from the bladder to the kidneys. We must remember, that there are no organs in the feet – only their reflection and action methods embody the therapist's intentions according to the body's organic characteristics.

Concerning the manipulative treatment techniques

ording to the experience gathered from this project, it was discovered that - in addition to the fact the manipulative treatment can promote personal rehabilitation processes according to each patient's multiple sclerosis stage - with the help of the manipulative treatment, each patient's condition could be diagnosed concerning his ability to “recruit” and transfer forces through the representing feet points, from inside out. With this technique the condition of each patient can be traced and diagnosed at the beginning of each treatment series, fix his treatment plan, and follow the progress processes of the treatment.

Concerning the treatment frequency

The treatments were given once a week. According to the therapists and many of the patients of this project, in many cases the treatment's influence was good only for the first half of the week that followed the session. This can lead us to the conclusion that two treatments a week are needed – this is the suggested frequency following the scientific examination.

Concerning reflexology treatment in general

From joining the research concerning the influence of reflexology treatment of multiple sclerosis patients, which is in fact the first research to examine the reflexology on disease issues, from many patients' previous experiences and from continuous experiences, it turns out that the reflexology is a friendly treatment. Meaning: a treatment that inspires “domestic peace” within the bodysoulish totality, and in fact it is good for anyone, provided his body benefits from the treatment. The treatment's impact is especially remarkable on auto-immune diseases where the body identifies itself as the “enemy” and attacks itself. This conclusion should be further examined. Further scientific processes should also be done in order to inspire “domestic peace” between the scientific and the natural medicines.