Health is Consciousness
Let's talk about pain!
Why do we feel pain?
We understand pain as a warning sign that we need to pay attention to our body and / or our emotions.
Pain is the most common reason for medical appointments in most developed countries. It is an important symptom in many medical conditions and can interfere with a person's quality of life and overall functioning. According to a study carried out by the Brazilian Society for the Study of Pain (SBED) in 2017, about 37% of Brazilians have chronic pain, which is the one that lasts for more than 3 months.
Physical pain is a signal that our body provides to warn that something is not right. In our body, pain processing takes place in four stages:
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Translation : Painful impulses are perceived by nociceptors (cells specialized in perception) and transformed into action potentials;
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Transmission : Impulses are transmitted to the spinal cord;
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Modulation : In the spinal cord, the impulse is modulated before reaching higher levels of the Central Nervous System, that is, it ascends from the spinal cord and ends in the reticular formation and the thalamus;
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Perception : The impulse is integrated and perceived as pain. The thalamus plays a very important role in integrating the painful impulse. From there, neurons transmit impulses to the cerebral cortex, where processing occurs that results in pain awareness. The thalamus neurons communicate with the limbic system, which regulates emotions, which is why emotional sensations are so involved with pain.
It can be classified into three types:
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Nociceptive pain . It is caused by the stimulation of internal and external sensory receptors that respond to stimuli that exceed the harmful intensity. They can be classified according to the stimulation mode:
Thermal : Heat and cold;
Mechanics : Crushing, tearing, cutting, etc .;
Chemistry : Example, iodine in a cut or chemicals released during inflammation.
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Inflammatory pain that is associated with tissue damage and the infiltration of immune cells.
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Pathological pain that is a disease state caused by damage to the nervous system or by its abnormal function (for example, fibromyalgia, peripheral neuropathy, tension-type headache, etc.).
However, the mind can also produce sensations resulting from an emotional imbalance, which is called psychological pain. It is a well-known fact that sadness or anguish, common feelings in human life, have a physical component: a tightness in the chest, a sore body, difficulty in breathing or a great tiredness. Also the most frequent mental disorders - anxious and depressive syndromes - are accompanied by several physical symptoms, such as tiredness, asthenia, fatigue, palpitations, pain, dyspnea, extremity sweating, among others.
In the same way that physical pain warns us of an injury, we must not forget that the emotional pain of separation, rejection or disappointment is adaptive, as it helps us to understand that something is not right and that we should seek help.
How can Reflexotherapy reduce pain by accessing the nervous system?
Reflexology has three mechanisms for controlling pain. Are they:
Stimulating the adrenal and pituitary reflex areas so that natural anti-inflammatory substances (corticosteroids) are produced. Pain that originates from inflammatory processes can be well mitigated with stimulation, which should be performed as follows.
Basic reflex points:
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Hypothalamus;
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Pineal;
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Hypophysis;
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Cerebellum;
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Column with emphasis on T9;
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Circulation.
Treated inflammation (repeat two or three times)
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Reflex point where inflation occurs (eg, sciatic nerve). Strong pressure;
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Reflex area of the external cortex of the adrenals;
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Hypophysis.
Improve serotonin production by enteric nervous system cells.
About 95% of all serotonin produced in our body comes from the enteric nervous system. This corresponds to the innervation that permeates the entire small and large intestine and peritoneum. Serotonin, is a neurotransmitter that acts directly in the creation of the neuromodulator called "substance P". The more serotonin, the less substance P will be available in the spinal cord area. Substance P acts as a pain amplifier in the phase of pain modulation and also favors the inflammatory reaction (heat, redness, pain and edema or swelling).
Upon arrival of information from the spinal cord to the Central Nervous System. In this stage, there are neurological filters that can be stimulated, causing the pain to lose in intensity, acting effectively as a natural analgesic.
My observations are reinforced with several academic works attesting the effectiveness of the technique for pain control. To see:
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The effects of reflexology on chronic low back pain intensity in nurses employed in hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
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The effect of reflexology on pain perception aspects in nurses with chronic low back pain in Isfahan
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Analgesic Effects of Reflexology in Patients Undergoing Surgical Procedures: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29883188
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Fibromyalgia and reflexologyacademy of ancient reflexology fibromyalgia reflexology case study march 2009 page 1 of 6 fibromyalgia and reflexology
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Reflexology as a complementary method in the treatment of fibromyalgia in women: a literature review
Link: http://www.uniararas.br/revistacientifica/_documentos/art.015-2017.pdf
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Effects of reflexology on fibromyalgia symptoms: a multiple case study.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20621279
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An investigation into the efficacy of reflexology on acute pain in healthy human subjects
Link: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/6060909/Carol_Samuel_Thesis_2011.pdf
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A Pilot Study Exploring the Effects of Reflexology on Cold Intolerance
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20633515
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Foot reflexotherapy for the relief of acute low back pain related to the work of the nursing team
Link: http://bdtd.ibict.br/vufind/Record/UFSC_adccea4267737aa657ef0b950a3f7e2b
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IMPACT OF REFLEXOLOGY ON MECHANICAL LOW BACK PAIN
https://www.ijphy.org/index.php/journal/article/view/125
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The Effect of Reflexology on Pain Intensity and Duration of Labor on Primiparas
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371987/pdf/ircmj-13-475.pdf
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The effect of foot reflexology on pain intensity and disability of patients with chronic low back pain in physiotherapy unit of Baqiyatallah hospital
Link: http://medsnj.com/en/articles/87581.html
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Comparing the effects of reflexology methods and Ibuprofen administration on dysmenorrhea in female students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
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Reflexology and cancer
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The Effects of Foot Reflexology on Anxiety and Pain in Patients With Breast and Lung Cancer
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Evaluation of the Effect of Reflexology on Pain Control and Analgesic Consumption After Appendectomy.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26401598?dopt=Abstract
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Effects of feet reflexology versus segmental massage in reducing pain and its intensity, frequency and duration of the attacks in females with migraine: a pilot study
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S025462721730047X
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The effects of reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients after abdominal hysterectomy: A randomized controlled trial
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29458915
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Re fl exology versus Swedish Massage to Reduce Physiologic Stress and Pain and Improve Moodin Nursing Home Residents with Cancer: A Pilot Trial
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Effect of foot reflexology on pain and anxiety in women following elective caesarean section
Link: http://ijogi.mums.ac.ir/article_5746.html
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Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labor
Link: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009290.pub3/abstract
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Efficacy of reflexology in managing chronic pain and difficulty in lower limb movement involving intractable epilepsy
Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5735369
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Reflexology for the treatment of pain in people with multiple sclerosis: a double-blind randomized sham-controlled clinical trial
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19825891
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An exploratory study of reflexological treatment for headache
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10234869
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Reflexology in the management of low back pain: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229907000623
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Reflexology treatment for patients with lower limb amputations and phantom limb pain-an exploratory pilot study. (Full trial paper).
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Reflexology for symptom relief in patients with cancer
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Effects of Reflexotherapy on acute postoperative pain and anxiety among patients with digestive cancer
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Complementary therapies in the management of low back pain: A survey of reflexologists
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229907000684
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Partner-delivered reflexology: effects on cancer pain and anxiety
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A randomized controlled study of reflexology for the management of chronic lower back pain
Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.ejpain.2007.01.006
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Effects of reflexology on foot pain and Quality of Life in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis - A case report
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The effect of self foot reflexology on the relief of pre-menstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea in high school girls
Link: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cf03/063e413f446bba7f466b8ad241c013d707e5.pdf
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The effects of foot reflexology on pain in patients with metastatic cancer
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0897189703000776
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The effectiveness of foot reflexotherapy on chronic pain associated with a herniated disk.
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The efficacy of reflexology in the management of chronic low back pain
Link: http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/4915/1/247384.pdf
What, generally, is it possible to identify by the marks, calluses and deformations of the skins of the feet?
Our body, when it is inflamed, will signal areas in the feet that are redder in the color of the skin.
Small spot blisters or peeling may also appear in specific reflex areas and indicate problems such as a sore throat, stomach pain, hemorrhoids, a urinary tract infection, kidney stones, esophagitis, sciatic nerve problems, spinal problems, etc.
Touching reflex areas with acute pain sensitivity can also signal problems. For example, a tooth with problems in its canal will make the reflex area very sensitive.
Self-massage tips that help the body to react?
An easy tip is to do a scalding feet. The elevated temperature in all nerve endings of the feet will stimulate the Central Nervous System to act on imbalances, producing substances that control inflammation and pain intensity.