INHE 1005 Week 8 Approach Profile Example

Reflexology Described, Then Reported in the Reviews' Own Verbs: An Approach Profile That States What the Evidence Examined and Stops There

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Walden University

INHE 1005: Foundations of Integrative Health

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Reflexology Described, Then Reported in the Reviews' Own Verbs: An Approach Profile That States What the Evidence Examined and Stops There

What Reflexology Is

Reflexology is a manual practice in which a practitioner applies pressure to specific points on the feet, and sometimes the hands or ears. Its practitioners describe these points as corresponding to other parts of the body through maps of the foot. Sessions usually last thirty to sixty minutes, with the client seated or lying down and fully clothed apart from the feet. In the federal center's terms it falls among the approaches delivered through the body by touch and pressure (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [NCCIH], 2021).

Origins and Underlying Idea

Modern reflexology is usually traced to zone therapy, developed in the United States in the early twentieth century, and to later foot maps that became the basis of today's training. The core idea is that the foot carries a map of the whole body, so pressure at one point can influence a distant organ or system. That idea is a claim about anatomy that conventional physiology does not support, and a profile should report it as the practice's own explanation rather than as an established mechanism.

Who Practices It and How They Are Trained

Reflexology is offered by dedicated reflexologists, by massage therapists who add it to their services, and in some places by nurses in palliative or supportive care. Training varies widely in length and content. A review of the practice's concepts and training concluded that adequate training for practitioners is necessary to ensure consistency in the service provided (Embong et al., 2015). In most of the United States, reflexology has no separate license; practitioners operate under massage regulations, under an exemption from them, or with voluntary certification.

What the Evidence Examined and How Firmly It Concluded

The most often cited systematic review on reflexology's effectiveness set out to evaluate evidence for and against reflexology as a treatment for any medical condition (Ernst, 2009). It included 18 randomized controlled trials covering conditions such as asthma, back pain, cancer palliation, diabetes, headache and multiple sclerosis. Five trials reported positive results. The reviewer judged methodological quality to be often poor and sample sizes generally low, and reported that most higher-quality trials did not generate positive findings. The review concluded that the best available evidence "does not demonstrate convincingly" that reflexology is an effective treatment for any medical condition (Ernst, 2009, p. 263).

A later review that revisited the concept, evidence and practice of reflexology stated that previous systematic reviews failed to show concrete evidence for a specific effect of reflexology in any condition, while noting that it is widely accepted and that anecdotal reports of positive effects exist (Embong et al., 2015).

Limits of This Profile

Nothing here claims that reflexology works, or fails, for any particular person. The reviews summarized here examined whether trials showed effects beyond what comparison conditions produced; they did not address whether people find sessions relaxing or pleasant, which is a different question. A reader wanting to know whether reflexology helps with a specific condition should look for reviews of that condition, read what each review set out to examine and repeat its conclusion at the strength its authors chose.

References

Embong, N. H., Soh, Y. C., Ming, L. C., & Wong, T. W. (2015). Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 5(4), 197-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2015.08.008

Ernst, E. (2009). Is reflexology an effective intervention? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Medical Journal of Australia, 191(5), 263-266. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02780.x

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2021). Complementary, alternative, or integrative health: What's in a name? https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-integrative-health-whats-in-a-name