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REFLEXOLOGY & HEADACHES Reflexology maps depict the relationship between the human body and the reflexes in the feet (Image 1) and hands. A reflex is a specific area that when worked, produces a change in the body. The reflex is not on the skin, but in the tissue. Reflexes should also not be confused with acupuncture/ acupressure points. A few reflexes are as small as a pinhead, but most are larger. When pressure is applied to often tender points on a foot or hand, change takes place in the areas to which these reflexes correspond throughout the rest of the body. Both hand and foot reflexology produce a reflexive action in the body. The feet, being more distal from the heart, contain more deposits than the hand, but both protocols are beneficial to the client. Reflexology protocols for muscle tension and headaches stemming from stress are straightforward. The technique facilitates a body-wide relaxation response, evoking a parasympathetic response to ease or relieve head pain. As the neck is the gateway between the head and the body, working head and neck reflexes relaxes muscular tension in this area, promoting freer movement of blood, nerve supply, lymph, bioelectrical energy, and other fluids (such as in craniosacral work). Working a reflex has an impact on all systems of the body affected by that reflex. Since headaches frequently stem from muscular tension, a closer look at muscular system reflexes provides a ready example of how to perform reflexology and think through related client issues. (For this article, our discussion will focus largely on foot reflexology and its protocols.) The trained reflexologist understands the anatomy of the head, neck, and shoulders, and can locate the reflex of any muscle (or other structure) in the feet or hands. By Illustrations provided by Body Scientific International, LLC. using reflexology techniques to work the reflexes, the entire head and neck (and all structures therein) are worked quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Contemporary reflexology is much more than "rubbing crystals" in the reflexes (now an outdated phrase describing what people feel in the tissue). Professionals know that deposits, the more accurate term, reflect an anatomical or functional problem in acute, subacute, or chronic phases. Using biopsies of the feet, Jesus Manzanares, MD, identified the organic tissue characteristics of deposits to be a mixture of various substances, including connective tissue, nerve fibers, and vascular elements. These are palpable for consistency, mobility, size, and sensitivity.2 Reflexes for the structures of the head (cranial bones, brain, sinuses, nerves, facial features, and so forth) are located bilaterally in the toes. Deposits and fluid congestion lessen when these areas are worked thoroughly. The professionally trained reflexologist is precise in both identification of these reflexes and the technique utilized to meet session objectives. KEYS TO HEADACHE RELIEF When the muscular system (Image 2) is overlaid with reflexology vertical zone lines and horizontal guidelines, it creates an anatomical topographical map of the body. Most muscles of the head and neck are superior to the clavicle. Compare the location of the head and neck muscles with the 36 massage & bodywork july/august 2011