Fascia and Reflexology

It gives me great satisfaction and pleasure to read articles like this one "Fascia and Reflexology" that support one of the reasons Reflexology is an effective modality for the whole.
I am also proud that key elements of this article have been also presented through the Orthopedic Reflexology approach.

The feet are a whole old world, it is waiting to be discovered and in our Orthopedic Reflexology training we will rediscover this world.

According to Julie Day, a physiotherapist working with the Stecco group in Italy: “The fact that the superficial fascia and the deep fascia almost fuse together in the soles of the feet and the palms of the hand could be an explanation for why working deeply in these areas, as in reflexology, can affect areas that are distant from the area we work on.” Julie said that she had often used plantar reflexology in the past and but, at that time, had not found any plausible anatomical explanations for its effectiveness. Reflexology is a relatively easy technique to learn and it can either be incorporated within a massage session or as a specific session apart.

According to Dr. Ida Rolf in “Rolfing and Physical Reality”: “The meridian points and reflex points in the feet are most likely end-points of myofascial strain, the result of imbalance which transmits its difficulty in compensating pattern through the body to the surface. Fascial planes may be the route of mechanical transmission of pain.” She also mentioned “Foot reflexes are peaks of strains. They are nothing mystical; they are where strain goes in the foot. If you are relieving strain above the reflex points (for example in the ankle and shin) you will relieve those points of strain in the sole of the foot. When a weight goes down and dies in some place, it becomes a reflex point.” And “I think that many if not all reflex points in the foot are simply points where gravitational strain inserts and comes together. They are the end of the line we call balance”

In most parts of the body, the superficial fascia is an elastic connective tissue layer surrounded above and below by adipose tissue. However at the palm and sole of the foot, the skin is tightly bound to the underlying tissues to prevent or restrict movement (Figure 2) . If movements were allowed to occur here within fascial planes, then the hands or feet would not been able to have a firm grip. The retinacula of the retinacula cutis layers in the palms and soles are much thicker. They bind the superficial fascia to the deep fascia and adipose tissue is sparse beneath the skin. It is even absent at the finger creases on the palmar sides of the interphalangeal joints, so that the skin immediately covers fascial tendon sheaths (Benjamin, 2009). See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 of Mike Benjamin’s article The fascia of the limbs and back . (The article also provides a thorough anatomical view of the fascia of the hands and feet). Pavan et al. (2011) studied the mechanical properties of the plantar aponeurosis.

http://www.fascialfitness.net.au/articles/fascia-and-reflexology/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667913/