In the recent issue of Massage & Bodywork (March/April 19) Til Luchau through his article Understanding Inflammation and Pain, makes a very important reference regarding chronic pain (something characteristic of reflexology clients) and "pain sensitization" directly at the injured area, the related dorsal root ganglia along the spine, inside the related spinal cord and in the regions of the homunculus (brain) associated with both sensation and movement of the painful area.
This would mean for a reflexologist attending to someone's chronic low back pain with sciatic nerve pain, that he/she should examine the reflexes associated to the lumbar region and leg, the spinal refexes of lumbar 4&5 and sacral 1&2, but also to the reflexes of Pennfield's homunculus (sensorimotor cortex) of the lumbar and leg areas.
Pennfield's homunculus is in the brain so the relevant reflexes are to be found on the tips of the toes distributed respectively in the five zones and/or as a micro sytem of five zones distributed in the hallux or big toe.
Remember that sensitization of the homunculus might possibly occur in chronic pain, which is persisting pain over a period of 3-4 months.
Pennfield's homunculus is in the brain so the relevant reflexes are to be found on the tips of the toes distributed respectively in the five zones and/or as a micro sytem of five zones distributed in the hallux or big toe.
Remember that sensitization of the homunculus might possibly occur in chronic pain, which is persisting pain over a period of 3-4 months.
Hope the pictures help, I have drawn in red the areas in both systems that we would look into regarding our example.
"Pain sensitization is a key link between the immune and nervous systems: sensitization amplifies the actual nociceptive signals (not just the experience of pain), either peripherally at the tissue receptors themselves, or centrally, within the spinal cord and brain.
Interestingly, inflammation-related sensitization isn’t limited to the directly injured areas. Inflammatory markers have also been found within related dorsal root ganglia along the spine (associated with processing chronic pain), neural pathways within the spinal cord, and perhaps most intriguingly, even in immune cells in parts of the brain associated with both sensation and movement of the painful area (glial cells in the sensorimotor cortex)."
Interestingly, inflammation-related sensitization isn’t limited to the directly injured areas. Inflammatory markers have also been found within related dorsal root ganglia along the spine (associated with processing chronic pain), neural pathways within the spinal cord, and perhaps most intriguingly, even in immune cells in parts of the brain associated with both sensation and movement of the painful area (glial cells in the sensorimotor cortex)."
