Reflexology: The Definitive Practitioner's Manual: Recommended by the International Therapy Examination Council for Students and Practitoners

From 1913 to about 1920 most work on zone therapy was being developed by two other medical physicians, Doctors Bowers and White. Edwin F Bowers MD, a well-known medical critic and writer, wrote an article on Dr Fitzgerald’s work. The method was unnamed at the time so he christened it ‘zone therapy’. He further elaborated that ‘Man was admittedly of chemical formation controlled by electrical energy, or electronic vibration’ introducing the concept of energy to the system. Dr Fitzgerald also taught George Starr White MD, who acknowledged in his writings A Lecture Course to Physicians (seventh edition revised) that credit must be given to Dr Fitzgerald for the discovery of mapping out the body into five zones each side of the medial line. He also stated that others had used a form of pressure for the relief of pain but prior to this there was no system regarding its use. He also said ‘“Zone Therapy” must be classed with the best and most original procedure in medicine today.’ Further, he quoted Dr Fitzgerald’s statement that, ‘Zone therapy is not a cure-all, but it is a valuable adjunct in therapy.’

It was during this time that William Fitzgerald lectured to Dr Joe Shelby-Riley and his wife Elizabeth Ann Riley. They had a school of chiropractic in Washington DC. Fitzgerald found that naturopaths, chiropractors and osteopaths were willing converts as they were interested in any drugless therapy. Dr Shelby-Riley became more than just interested in zone therapy during his lifetime; he also wrote 12 books, his first Zone Therapy Simplified (written in 1919) was mentioned in his later work Science and Practice of Chiropractic with Allied Sciences (1925). A later book was just entitled Zone Reflex; the 12th edition was copyrighted in 1942. By then the Rileys had elaborated and greatly broadened their instructions and introduced a technique called hook-work in which the fingers are hooked under bones (e.g. the scapula) in connection with zone therapy. Elizabeth Ann Riley was a remarkable teacher of zone therapy.

In 1919 a young man named Harry Bond Bressler graduated from the Shelby-Rileys’ chiropractic school, receiving a Degree of Chiropractic, and joined Dr Shelby-Riley in his practice in 1920. He wrote a book in 1955, confirming everything that had previously been written by Fitzgerald. Bressler considered that Fitzgerald had become acquainted with the art of pressure therapy in Vienna, which was very possible because many doctors and naturopaths visited the continent for seminars and meetings. Note that both in this book and in subsequent books written, some anomalies regarding reflexology points arose. Bressler made an issue of the terminology to be used when referring to the digits, because he felt that some people were confused. He called the first phalanx or finger joint the proximal phalanx (nearest the palm), the next was the middle or second phalanx, and the one nearest the end of the finger was the distal or third phalanx (with exception of the thumb and great toe, which have only two phalanges, a proximal and a distal). He clearly stated that the eyes related to the tips of the index finger and second toe, being the third or end joint (he said to try the third or middle digits). For the ears he said he used the fourth finger, the ring finger (note that the ring finger is actually the third finger); the third finger in TCM contains the Triple Burner meridian and is always used for ear problems. Fitzgerald had specified raising the nail on the third finger for tinnitus of the ear; however, Bressler wrote that he had confirmed Fitzgerald’s work of raising the lateral edge of the nail of the fourth finger for ear noises for 2–5 minutes, three or four times each day. Harry Bond Bressler also linked ear problems to the liver; I think this was because the Gall Bladder channel commences on the face and contours the ear to terminate in the fourth toe. The toe terminal point is also used for ear problems, as because many of the disorders linked to the Gall Bladder meridian are often high congested states the liver would definitely also be out of balance. In his chapter on ears he also included ear massage, but his points do not relate to the known acupoints.

Reading through Fitzgerald’s book you are made aware that, even though he worked on the actual organ involved, often he was also looking for other organs that might be contributing to the condition. That is, he was looking for ‘areas of assistance’ or associated areas, one of the basic concepts of reflexology today. For instance, not only did he refer to ingrowing toenails contributing to headaches but he stated that this would affect the entire zone and could be the contributing factor for a discordant condition expressed in a distant organ within that area. Undue pressures would cause a problem within any part of that zone.

Bressler’s one main deviation appeared in his depiction of the zones. Fitzgerald’s early work had always depicted the zones as ten lines of energy, five each side of the medial line, and his diagrams clearly show this (seefigure 1.10 (#litres_trial_promo)). The five lines are quite clearly marked out, and each line represents the centre of that respective zone. Fitzgerald clearly stated that he designed these figures in this way to avoid confusion. However, Harry Bond Bressler states that the zones commence in the web of the first phalange; this results in only four lines either side of the median line, which is not as Fitzgerald’s original concept. It is important to be aware of this alteration.

Eunice Ingham, another author, was also a student of the Riley chiropractic school. In her book she stated that Dr Fitzgerald, in his work Zone Therapy, blazed the path for further developments, as he ‘brings to light for our consideration his discovery of the ten various zones of the body and location of each organ in the body in one or more of these zones’. If the feet and the hands are supposed to represent the physical body with all organs laid out in a similar arrangement, every book or chart should be the same, with variations only being in the format. However, in Ingham’s books the eye and ear reflexes are clearly depicted at the base of toes two, three and four and this arrangement has been followed in many later books. Was this due to the fact that the acupoint just before the terminal point on the Stomach meridian (seefigure 5.41 (#litres_trial_promo)) is at the metatarsal phalange at the base of the second toe, a point that is used for all facial problems? Similarly, on the fourth toe the last but one point on the Gall Bladder meridian (GB-43) is for all ear and eye problems (seefigure 5.41 (#litres_trial_promo)). Ingham also shows the Heart area covering the same area as that of the Lungs, and suggests working on the shoulder reflex under the fourth and fifth toes, which correspond to the fourth and fifth zones. In TCM the Heart meridian is on the fifth finger, so we should be able to access the heart through the zone. Ingham states ‘take any of the internal organs of the body and determine what zone line passes through them’. This system will guide you in reflexology as we know it today. Ingham stated that the zone concept had become a powerful and important tool in the relief of many disorders and that zone therapy had the ability to stimulate the body’s own natural healing process and allow it to balance its own natural energies. A balanced energy flow should have no blockages.

Doreen E Bayly was trained by Eunice Ingham in America and was responsible for bringing the therapy to Great Britain in 1966. Her book Healing through the Feet was published in 1978.

In the 1960s a young Yorkshire man named Joseph Corvo was taught the zone principle by one of Dr William Fitzgerald’s believers. Today he practises and teaches zone therapy, but does not link it with reflexology. He claimed the system is as old as the human race, that it is a natural instinct to put your hand on a painful part and press it, and that it not only relieves the effect but also removes the cause. He also maintained that you could not harm yourself in any way using the ‘zonery system’ and that it was absolutely safe. To date Joseph Corvo must be listed amongst the great masters for the vast amount of treatment that he has given to help so many and the many books that he has also written.

Regardless of what name we call this therapy by – the zonary system, zone therapy, reflex zones of the feet and hands, or just simply reflexology – there is no doubt it is an ever-expanding activity. As more details are discussed, explanations sought and more research is undertaken our knowledge will expand greatly. If William Fitzgerald was known as the ‘grandfather’ of the zone theory then Eunice Ingham is known as the ‘mother’ of contemporary reflexology. Regardless of how these forward-thinking people developed their theories, even if we do not exactly agree with them let us explore them all. Daily new theories and techniques are being developed worldwide but many of Fitzgerald’s and Ingham’s basic methods and procedures are still taught today.

Through the years we have also had many great naturopaths who believed in the wonderful art of natural self-healing for treating illness; their methods included changing the food that people eat and utilizing the forces of nature such as fresh clean air, light, heat, cold and water (which has been used therapeutically for thousands of years). These drugless methods also incorporated physical exercises and massage.

Important events in the development of reflexology

This calendar in Box 1.1 outlines some important medical events from ancient history to the present day, showing how it may appertain to the whole theory of reflexology, and how the West and the East have something in common with this incredible therapy.

Box 1.1 Important Events in the Development of Reflexology

C2500 BC China – Beginnings of acupuncture in China

C2330 BC Egypt – Tomb of Ankhmahor built depicting representations of surgical operations, or treatment of hands and feet

C1558 BC China – Acupuncture in China became more refined

C500 BC Japan – Acupuncture reached Japan

AD 420 China – A bronze statue was cast showing the location of all the points of acupuncture

1582 Europe – First book of zone therapy published by Doctors Adamus and A’tatis

1776 Per Henrick Ling was noted for his gymnastics; lingism, as it was later known, was the treatment of disease with both active and passive moves

1800s Britain – Treatment by acupuncture was introduced into Britain and the term ‘reflex’ used by many medical men

Early 1800s Japan – Reiki, an ancient energy healing system based on very old Tibetan texts, arose from the teachings of Dr Mikao Usui; its theory was that the universal life energy was channelled through to the practitioner, who in turn conveyed it through the fingertips to those who needed it

1823 Britain – First issue of the Lancet was printed. A case of acupuncture treatment was reported. Successful treatment was carried out by a Dr Tweedale of Lyme Regis

1827 Britain – Acupuncture was used in the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh and St Thomas’s Hospital, London

Early 1800s Italy – Filippo Pacini (1812–83), an anatomist, discovered Pacinian corpuscles: sensory receptors in the skin particularly sensitive to changes of pressure, also found in joints and tendons. Angelo Ruffini (1864–1929), an anatomist, discovered Ruffini corpuscles, which record dermal distortions; they are cylindrical sensory organs that respond to pressure and warmth, found in finger pads, joints, tendons and tendon sheaths

Early 1800s Germany – Johannes Peter Müller (1801–58), a physiologist, proposed the principle of the law of specific irritability, the principle that each nerve is excited via sense organs responsive to a specific form of energy, and its excitation, because of its connections, can give rise to only one modality of sensation, regardless of whether the nerve is electrically or mechanically excited. Karl Ludwig Merkel (1812–76), an anatomist, discovered Merkel’s discs, tactile end-organs; these are slow-acting mechanoreceptors, responding when the tissue is stretched. George Meissner (1829–1905), a histologist, discovered Meissner’s plexus, a fine network of nerves in the wall of the alimentary canal, also Meissner’s corpuscles, found in the fingertips and lips

1880 Europe – Acupuncture was used in Europe. The connection could be the French Consul in China, Soulie de Morant, who became closely associated with Chinese philosophy. He studied the Chinese language and many ancient treatises on the subject. Many of them were thousands of years old and he translated them into French

Late 1800s Europe – From the latter part of the 1800s great strides were made by the medical profession in the study of reflexes. Many devices were used to deliver electrical stimuli to parts of the body. These were to establish the identity of nerves, such as whether they were sensory or motor. They also established, by the response raised, if a nerve or tract was damaged or absent. As these responsive actions indicate externally what is taking place within the body, it is my belief that we can send a message in on the same pathway

Late 1800s Germany – Mendel-Bekhterev reflex abnormal response was found showing dysfunction in the corticospinal tract; Kurt Mendel (1874–1946) was a neurologist. Hermann Oppenheim (1858–1936), a neurologist, found that when pressure is applied on the tibial crest there is a fanning of all the toes and an extension of the great toe. This is indicative of lesions within the pyramidal tract

Late 1800s USA – Charles Gilbert Chaddock (1861–1936), a neurologist, found that reflex extension of the great toe was induced by percussion on the external malleolar region and this was indicative of pyramidal tract lesion. Alfred Gordon (1874–1953), a neurologist, found the knee jerk reflex and extensor plantar response evident in pyramidal tract disease; this was produced when squeezing the calf muscles

1886 Russia – Vladimir Michailovich Bekhterev (1857–1927) led historical development in experimental methods of reflexology on animals and then the study of human behaviour

1886–7 Russia – Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936), a physiologist, studied conditioned reflex activity in dogs and received the Nobel Prize in 1904 by proving that there was a direct association between a stimulus and a response reflex action (see chapter 2 (#u09012f9a-9492-5027-b4b9-7fc32755fe9e))

Late 1800s Russia – Lyudvig Martinovitch Puussepp (1875–1942), a neurosurgeon, discovered that there is a slow abduction of the little toe in response to stroking the outer aspect of the foot, which is indicative of upper motor neuron disease. These abnormal reflexes are not present in healthy individuals

1892 France – Dr Joseph François Felix Babinski (1857–1932), a neurologist, ascertained the plantar reflex (seechapter 2, page 46 (#ulink_0b4e00b5-4e46-5d87-8ed4-773ad652e9fe))

1893 England – Sir Henry Head (1861–1940), a neurologist, published research proving a direct relationship between pressure applied to the skin and its effect on internal organs. This was later clarified to be the effects of dermatomes (seechapter 2, page 43 (#ulink_f11dab16-7994-5220-93ec-b0d270462215))

1895 United States – Dr William Fitzgerald (1872–1942) qualified at the University of Vermont, and was the originator of the theory of zone therapy (died 21 October 1942 in Stamford, Connecticut)

1897 Egypt – Tomb of Ankhmahor at Saqqara discovered by V Loret depicting treatment of feet, hands and legs

1902 Vienna – Fitzgerald studied and taught in Vienna

1906 England – Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1859–1952), an Oxford physiologist, proved that the whole nervous system responded to stimuli from proprioceptors, specialized sensory nerve endings that monitored internal changes in the body. He published his findings in The Integrative Action of the Nervous System

1907 Russia – Bekhterev formed the Psychoneurological Institute, and later became the Director of the State Reflexological Institute for the study of the brain in Leningrad

1913–20 Washington – Fitzgerald went to Washington to teach and lecture to Shelby-Riley students

1915 United States – Edwin Bowers article published ‘To stop that toothache squeeze your toe’

1917 United States – Edwin Bowers MD and William Fitzgerald MD published Zone Therapy. Many other books were published during this period

1919 United States – Dr Joe Shelby-Riley published first of 12 books about zone therapy, the last being published in 1942

1928 Russia – Bekhterev had his work translated into English

1938 United States – Eunice Ingham (24 February 1889–10 December 1974) published Stories the Feet Can Tell

1945 United States – Eunice Ingham published Stories the Feet Have Told

1949 United States – Dr Roy S Ashton published The Fundamental System Bad Feet-Bad Spine showing the connection between foot abnormalities and the spine

1955 United States – Harry Bond Bressler published his book Zone Therapy confirming all of Dr William Fitzgerald’s work

1966 England – Doreen Bayly returned from America after training with Eunice Ingham and introduced reflexology to Britain; she published her first foot chart in black and white in 1966 entitled ‘The Eunice Ingham method chart produced by Doreen Bayly’