Acupuncture
This technique is derived from Chinese traditional medicine and involves placing needles into specific points found on “meridian lines” that extend all over the body. These lines are complex and were defined by the technique’s developers centuries ago. The diagnosis is, amongst other things, determined by examining features of the pulse also not recognised by Western medicine. How the technique works is unexplained but for many it gives relief. Chinese medicine also has its own often herbal based pharmacy and involves other techniques such as Moxibustion and Cupping. Acupuncture is not only practiced by Chinese traditional practitioners but has been learnt by many medics who use it in a modified form alongside other standard Western therapies. In the UK it is self regulated by the British Acupuncture Council. See also Dry Needling.
www.acupuncture.org.uk
Classification: Passive
Alexander Technique
Named after Frederick Matthias Alexander, (1869-1955), he described it as an educational process that helps individuals realign their posture and avoid muscular and mental tension in everyday life e.g., standing or sitting with body weight unevenly distributed or holding the head incorrectly, walking or running inefficiently, and responding to stressful stimuli in an exaggerated way. He believed that if muscles are used incorrectly then emotional responses suffer. People have since used it in sport e.g. the Steven Shaw Art of Swimming. It is good for “office neck”.
www.alexandertechnique.co.uk
Classification: Passive
Aroma Therapy
Aromatherapy uses plant oils and other scents to alter mood, cognitive processing and psychological or physical well-being. Based on smell it reaches back to the earliest origins of our consciousness.
Probably, as single cell organisms one of the earliest things we learnt to do, in the past mists of our evolutionary history was, smell i.e., detect chemical gradients, food, and so move towards it. This actually poses one of the most taxing and unresolved questions of evolutionary biology; why did a cell evolve a flagellum that allowed it to move if it could not smell and likewise why learn to smell if you cannot move? Let’s leave that for now.
Today a brain smells, or in other words detects a chemical gradient, with the olfactory nerve. Whether you are a reptile, bird or mammal you have the same unique mechanism. Unique because it is a direct extension of the brain and the only direct contact the brain has with the outside world. The olfactory nerve runs forward under the front of the brain to the top of the nose where it pierces the skull through series of holes in what is called the “cribriform plate” – in humans this is an area of the skull half the size of a teaspoon with multiple holes through which the nerve protrudes. The holes are each big enough to house a fat sowing needle. Here fingers of brain poke down into the top of the nose to directly engage smell. Quite literally it is where “you get some air to your brain”. All other, all other, sensory interaction that our brain has with the world that surrounds us is via a peripheral nerve, an intermediary which lies outside the brain and acts as a messenger. Touch, temperature, sound vision, vibration all come via these peripheral or outside interpreters. Smell instead, and uniquely, hard wires directly into our brain. Primeval, pure, unadulterated it drives straight into the under surface of consciousness. Stamping into our awareness its power to change behaviour, and thereby make “sales”, is testified to by the bakery in every supermarket. Some do not actually bake the bread they just scent the air with an artificial bakery smell so as to enhance purchasing.
The more primitive and ancient a brain is the more it is devoted to smell. Moles stopped evolving 30million years ago. Almost blind, quite deaf and exceptionally dim they have a brain that is over 60% devoted to smell. In dogs it is perhaps 30%. Even in humans 5% of our DNA codes for smell!
Now, a therapy that taps directly into the ancient origins of our conscious underbelly might well help in a sense of general well-being and indeed the use of essential oils for spiritual and ritualistic purposes goes back to the ancient civilizations of China, India, Egypt, Greece, and the Romans. Each scents in cosmetics, perfumes and drugs. In World War II the French surgeon, Jean Valnet, used essential oils to treat wounded soldiers. Today aromatherapy is used to treat a variety of conditions: pain, anxiety, fatigue, short-term memory, hair loss, eczema.
The two basic mechanisms by which it may work are the direct effect on the brain and perhaps a pharmacological activity the essential oils used.
Aromatherapists have voluntary regulation in the UK by the Aromatherapy Council.
www.aromatherapycouncil.org.uk
Classification: Passive
Bowen Technique
This involves a practitioner performing rolling motions along muscles, tendons, and fascia. The intervention is minimal and pauses form an integral part of the treatment. These breaks in treatment “allow the body to reset" itself. Derived from techniques first developed by the Australian physical therapist, Thomas Ambrose Bowen (Tom Bowen) (1916–1982), the precise techniques vary as do the names by which it is known: Smart Bowen, Fascial Kinetics, Neurostructural Integration Technique (NST), Fascial Bowen and Bowenwork.
www.thebowentechnique.com
Classification: Passive
CHEK Therapy
Paul Chek describes himself as working in the fields of “corrective and high-performance exercise kinesiology”. Kinesiology is the study of body movement. He set up the “CHEK” Institute in California; referring not to his name, (really!), but to “Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology”. He recommends “treating the body as a whole system and finding the root cause of a problem” by addressing six areas: -
- Thoughts – suggesting that “the biology of your body is linked to your mind – healthy thinking produces a healthy body.”
- Movement – expressing the belief that “movement is life and life is movement - exercise pumps your organs, removes waste, improves metabolism, and cultivates energy.”
- Nutrition – he promotes organic foods “eaten according to your Primal Pattern Diet Type” suggesting this will “fuel your body for success”
- Breathing – by optimising breathing he attempts to maximize “the most important nutrient – oxygen” suggesting this “removes waste, and energizes your body”. (Now, whilst we have avowedly avoided recommending any particular therapies here we can clearly and unreservedly endorse this element of Chek’s thinking; life without oxygen is miserable, short and often quite desperate. If you want to get the most out of life you must remember to breath, all day actually.)
- Hydration – on the basis of the old adage that “the solution for pollution is dilution” – they suggest “water is an essential cleaning agent for the body”. Drink water.
- Sleep – believing “we get stronger when we rest” they promote 8 hours of sleep each night as being essential for rest & repair.
This is a whole way of life and is not for the faint hearted.
www.chekinstitute.com
Classification:Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Chiropractic/chiropractor
Invented by Daniel David Palmer a charismatic healer from Iowa USA in 1895 the initial theory was that all kinds of illness could be relieved by spinal manipulation; like its older rival osteopathy, also invented by an engaging American from the mid-West. Palmer’s first patient, Harvey Lillard, had apparently gone deaf when “something popped in his spine” and a few days after some spinal adjustments his hearing returned. Initially surrounded by theories that today sound laughable it is now one of the largest alternative medicine professions. Chiropractics are skilled in musculoskeletal diagnosis and deliver a range of therapies aimed at relieving symptoms and aiding in healing and prevention. Their work very much focuses on spinal disorders. Extensively practiced around the world many chiropractors work in elite sports whilst others are integrated into GP services. In Denmark they study during their first years with standard medical students. Like with all the professions there are good and bad ones but most now address the three pillars of spinal care. chiropractic students in the UK study for four to five years to gain their Integrated Masters in Chiropractic (MChiro) degree. In the United Kingdom, chiropractors are Statutorily Regulated by the General Chiropractic Council (GCC)
www.gcc-uk.org
Classification: Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
This term refers to all of the physical therapies and treatments excluding physiotherapy, podiatry/chiropody and all types of therapy excluding Western/modern medicine.
In 2015 the Australian Government's Department of Health published a review of alternative therapies. Whilst those practicing many of the therapies it covers may criticise the report for looking at them through the wrong lens, a Western objective “evidence based” lens, it is a good read.
Regulation and standards are an issue in this field as it is in many. The European Federation for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine EFCAM is instead mainly concerned with “equality of access for citizens to CAM across Europe, and, to gain the right of all appropriately trained providers of CAM to practice”.
However, in the U.K. the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), a regulator for complementary therapists was set up with government support to protect the public by providing voluntary register of complementary therapists. CNHC's register has been approved as an Accredited Register by theProfessional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care for: Alexander Technique, Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Bowen Therapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Healing, Hypnotherapy, Massage Therapy, Naturopathy, Nutritional Therapy, Reflexology, Reiki, Shiatsu, Sports Therapy, Yoga Therapy.
www.cnhcregister.org.uk/newsearch/
www.efcam.eu
www.cnhc.org.uk
Classification: Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Cranio-Sacral Therapy
Craniosacral therapy (CST, cranial-sacral therapy, cranial osteopathy, and cranial therapy) is a form of alternative therapy that uses light touches to a patient's cranium, spine and pelvis. Practitioners believe that this manipulation regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and aids in "primary respiration". Based on observations made by the osteopath William Sutherland (1873–1954) in 1898–1900 craniosacral therapy was further developed by John Upledger, D.O. in the 1970s. Craniosacral therapy is the more common name in the USA whereas in the UK the term "cranial osteopathy" is often used. Not all therapists will have had formal osteopathic training. The evidence base for CST is sparse, the underlying theories are biologically ridiculous and there is a complete absence of well-designed clinical trials. However, its popularity reflects the many patients that find “a sense of relief”. It is so gentle that harm is clearly unlikely providing, as the UK organising society recommends, that it is used alongside other standard treatment.
www.craniosacraltherapy.org
www.craniosacral.co.uk
Classification: Passive
Cupping
This stems from the same tradition as acupuncture and involves suction cups being placed along meridian lines.
Classification: Passive
Dry Needling
This is a Western version of acupuncture whereby fine needles are placed into painful “trigger” points in muscles to relieve spasm and pain. It is often used by physiotherapists and not infrequently by osteopaths and chiropractors who of course may also employ traditional acupuncture too.
Classification: Passive
Healing and Healers
This consists of a very mixed group of practitioners who use a variety of techniques, often the laying on of hands, and claim various powers to relieve illness and stress. Unregulated and not at all standardised they vary from country to culture.
www.internationalnaturalhealersassociation.com
Classification: Passive
Hypnotherapy
A complementary therapy that uses hypnosis, an altered state of consciousness, to relieve chronic often habit related conditions. Scientists disagree about whether and how it works. Some see it as a relaxation technique. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has nevertheless recognised hypnotherapy as a possible treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, in those who haven't responded to other treatments. It has been widely tried in smoking cessation, weight control, eczema, anxiety and phobia. It can be used in conjunction with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
As long ago as 1892, the British Medical Association (BMA) set up a committee to look at the effectiveness of hypnotism and concluded that it “is frequently effective in relieving pain, procuring sleep, and alleviating many functional ailments” – by the latter they meant what today is termed psycho-somatic complaints and anxiety disorders. They repeated the process in the 1950s concluding it “may be the treatment of choice in some cases of so-called psycho-somatic disorder” and that “there is a place for hypnotism in the production of anesthesia or analgesia for surgical and dental operations”. In 1958, the American Medical Association (AMA) then endorsed the BMA’s report. More recently in 1995, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that “the effectiveness of hypnosis in alleviating chronic pain associated with cancer seems strong” and likewise “other chronic pain conditions, which include irritable bowel syndrome, oral mucositis, temporomandibular disorders, (a form of jaw pain), and tension headaches” In 1999, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a Clinical Review supporting these views again. Likewise the British Psychological Society in 2001 concluded "there is convincing evidence that hypnotic procedures are effective in the management and relief of both acute and chronic pain….”
Hypnotherapy is practised by doctors, psychologists and counsellors for treatment but also by non-professionals, some with little training and often for entertainment. Ultimately it is regulated in the UK by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) though this is voluntary. Further regulation rests with the Confederation of Hypnotherapy Organisations (UKCHO) which is a non-profit umbrella body for hypnotherapy founded in 1998. Their website includes a National Public Register of Hypnotherapists.
Classification: Passive
Mackenzie Exercises
The McKenzie Method is a method of care developed by the New Zealand physical therapist, Robin McKenzie, (1931 to 2013) who gained an OBE for his work. He developed the method in the late 1950s and called it Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy, MDT. It is a system applicable not only to the spine but also conditions affecting the limbs. The system categorises patients' complaints not on an anatomical basis but by the clinical presentation of patients. Its other characteristic is its reliance on self-treatment minimising the passive manual therapy. McKenzie training teaches that passive procedures should only to be used if an individual’s “self-treatment” program is not fully effective. By self-treatment he referred to active, exercise based treatment i.e., two pillars with the second one being the most important. He argued that self-treatment is the best way to achieve a lasting improvement of back pain and neck pain. Launching his programmes in the 1980’s he was very much part of the movement towards exercise. When one views this in comparison with the history of Yoga and Ti Chi it is perhaps not so much a case of West meets East as West catches up!
At its heart is a philosophy of active patient involvement and education. There are four key steps: assessment, classification, treatment and prevention.
Assessment: the clinician listens to the symptoms and examines the patient by asking them to repeatedly make certain movements and sustain specific postures. This information is used to categorise the problem.
Classification: each condition is categorised into one of four syndromes. The first three are mechanical with the forth, “Other Subgroup” including serious pathologies, non-mechanical causes, true chronic pain.
Treatment: this consists of specific exercises and advice regarding postures to adopt and postures to temporarily avoid. The therapist may need to add hands-on techniques until the patient can self-manage. The aim is to use the least number of sessions. The underlying strength is that a treatment performed five or six times a day by the patient on their own is that much more likely to be effective in a shorter period than treatment administered by a therapist once or twice per week. The patient has to be actively involved. In the event of recurrence most patients can successfully then treat themselves.
Prevention: according to the McKenzie website this is actually just more treatment; “problems are more likely to be prevented through self-maintenance than by passive care.” This does not really address the third pillar of what it is an individual or activity is doing to create symptoms and how this can be prevented.
In 1982 McKenzie established the McKenzie Institute to carry out further research and training and there are now 28 branches Worldwide. He also invented the McKenzie Lumbar Roll and McKenzie Neck Roll to help patients prevent a recurrence of pain.
www.mckenzieinstitute.org
Classification: Passive; Active
Massage
There are more types of massage than we have space for. Some are very arduous and have the capacity to aggravate rather than relieve – Thai massage should be undertaken with some caution if there is already a back condition or osteoporosis, (thin bones – to be differentiated from osteoarthritis which means “wear and tear” arthritis). Others are very gentle. It forms an integral part of physiotherapy and many osteopaths and chiropractors will use it. It addresses muscle tension and spasm but may also be used on ligaments, (bands of tough tissue that bind two bones at their joint), and tendons, (bands of tough tissue that bind muscles to bone).
The Council for Soft Tissue Therapies works “in the best interests of the profession”, defines the core curriculum required for registration with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and describes itself as the governing body for massage and soft tissue therapies that form all bodyworks and soft tissue techniques in the UK.
www.gcmt.org.uk
Classification: Passive
McTimoney Chiropractic
Although derived from a different discipline in reality it is very like cranial osteopathy or cranio-sacral therapy. They begin from the stand point “that a healthy spine facilitates a healthy life”. Developed by the late John McTimoney over 50 years ago it is taught only at the McTimoney College of Chiropractic near Oxford. They suggest that the “gentle nature of chiropractic the McTimoney method makes it suitable for people throughout their lifetime from babyhood to those in later life”. Practitioners may specialise in pregnancy, paediatric, sports or later life chiropractic care. Apparently around 150,000 new patients consult a member of the MCA each year and UK members are registered with the General Chiropractic Council. It “involves light touch” along with a “whole body approach” and may not just be directed to the area where the pain is located.
www.mctimoneychiropractic.org
Classification: Passive
Moxibustion
This is part of Chinese traditional medicine practiced in conjunction with the needling of traditional acupuncture. It involves burning wool over certain points again derived from the meridians that underlie their system of medicine and diagnosis.
Classification: Passive
Myofascial Release
“Myo” refers to muscle. “Fascia” is the tissue, often in quite tough sheets, that separates the organs and muscles of the body as well as every bone, nerve, artery and vein. Myofascial Release is a form of massage focused on stretching the muscles and fascia stiffened by disease and trauma. This shortening may not show up on scans. It is a hands on passive treatment that has to be combined with all the other essential elements of a comprehensive treatment package if it is to be effective long term. The therapist uses their hands to find areas that feel stiff and fixed instead of elastic and movable. These may not always be at the source of pain but are thought to restrict muscle and joint movements and so produce pain in other muscles adversely loaded by that restriction. Manual pressure and stretching loosens up the restricted movement, leading indirectly to pain relief. Whilst the detection of the restricted areas is done by gentle palpation, (feeling with the hands), the stretching is often sustained and strong. Some practitioners use blunt blades to aid the stretching. Often practised by physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths as part of a treatment package there are pure myofascial release therapists who may or may not add the other elements of a treatment programme.
www.myofascialtherapy.org
Classification: Passive
Naturopathy
Naturopathy or naturopathic medicine uses an array of "natural" modalities such as homeopathy, herbalism, and acupuncture, as well as dietry advice and lifestyle counselling. Holistic and non-invasive it aims to reduce the need for surgery and drugs. Considered by many to be ineffective the term was coined in 1895 by John Scheel and popularized by Benedict Lust, often referred to as the father of U.S. naturopathy. The 1970’s saw its popularity rise.
The basic concept is old; Hippocrates, advocated natural cures. The Scot, Thomas Allinson, promoted his "Hygienic Medicine" in the 1880s; a natural diet and exercise, no tobacco and not too much work. The philosophy became less grounded when Lust started to promote it in spiritual and “vitalistic” terms with "absolute reliance upon the cosmic forces of man's nature". He founded the American School of Naturopathy in New York in 1902. After a period of rapid growth, naturopathy went into decline with the advent of penicillin and other modern medicines.
A consultation typically begins with a lengthy patient interview focusing on lifestyle, medical history, emotional tone, and physical features, as well as physical examination. Treatment is traditionally confined to lifestyle changes and alternative remedies such as botanical medicines, vitamins, minerals and homeopathy.
Represented in the U.S.A by the American Naturopathic Association (ANA) naturopathy is not regulated in the United Kingdom.
Classification: Passive; Prevention/ergonomic
Neural Glides
This is a physiotherapy technique whereby nerves that may have become tethered, perhaps by disc herniations, narrowing of the nerve canals, under muscles/tendons or by scars formed after surgery, are stretched across or through the obstruction. It forms part of the rehabilitation phase of your treatment.
Classification: Passive; Active
Osteopathy, Osteopath
This is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes the physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. There is "good" evidence for osteopathy as a treatment for low back pain and "limited evidence” for other conditions. The term osteopathy was coined in 1874 by the physician and surgeon Andrew Taylor Still in Kansas, USA at the time of the American Civil War. It has a long history in the UK; the first school was established in 1917 and it was accorded formal recognition by Parliament in 1993 by the Osteopaths Act. Regulated by the General Osteopathic Council an osteopath must hold a recognized qualification and there are currently more than five thousand osteopaths registered in the UK. Just as in any speciality there are good and bad ones. For a good outcome any specialist needs to address all three pillars of spinal care. (In the USA there is a potential confusion as they have to be differentiated from osteopathic medicine which refers to a medical doctor specialising in orthopaedic/bone medicine cf the USA use of the term physical therapist for physiotherapist.)
www.osteopathy.org
www.bso.ac.uk
Classification:Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Physical Therapist
In the UK and most of the World this is a collective term for physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, McTimoney Chiropractors, Cranio-sacral therapists etc. In the USA it is the name given to physiotherapists and has to be distinguished from consultant doctors specialising in “Physical Medicine” a field others term musculoskeletal medicine.
These physical therapists, (physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors), can be differentiated from medics as instead of using medicines they utilise some physical manipulation of the patient to effect relief. Just as medicine has developed over the years so too have these specialties. It matters less which is seen than that the overall treatment plan addresses all three pillars of spinal care.
Classification:Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Physiotherapy
The most established and common of the physical therapies this aims to make people better by improving their mobility, strength and function. They may work independently or in conjunction with medics. It goes back a long way. Physicians like Hippocrates and later Galen are believed to have been the first practitioners of physical therapy, advocating massage, manual therapy and techniques like hydrotherapy as long ago as 460 BC. However, physiotherapy as a profession dates back to Per Henrik Ling who founded the Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics (RCIG) in 1813. Sweden was the first country to give official registration to physiotherapists and in 1894 four nurses in the UK formed the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, still their regulatory body, a full 20 years ahead of the USA.
A physiotherapist, like an osteopath or chiropractor, will take a history, examine the patient, reach a diagnosis, develop a care plan including information/education, symptom relief, rehabilitation and prevention.
The aim is to restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They work with all ages and will specialise in one of many fields. Spinal physiotherapists will overwhelmingly restrict their activities to that field though spinal disorders make up such a large percentage of musculoskeletal medicine that all will have significant experience of it.
This is what the CSP says of themselves – “Physiotherapy is a science-based profession and takes a ‘whole person’ approach to health and wellbeing, which includes the patient’s general lifestyle. At the core is the patient’s involvement in their own care, through education, awareness, empowerment and participation in their treatment.”
Some of the main approaches used by physiotherapists include:- education and advice, movement, tailored exercise and physical activity advice, manual therapy – where they use their hands to help relieve pain and stiffness
www.csp.org.uk
Classification: Passive; Active; Prevention/ergonomic
Podiatry
Podiatry concerns the diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower extremity. The term podiatry has become the commonest name for the speciality; the older title of chiropody. The qualification, training and scope of the practice vary among countries. In the USA they are trained in a specific podiatric “medical” school where the curriculum includes anatomy, physiology, general medicine, biochemistry, neurology, pathology, genetics, embryology, microbiology, histology, pharmacology, rehabilitation, sports medicine, research, ethics and general orthopaedic surgery as well as foot and ankle surgery. Like medical doctors they rotate through major areas of medicine during a “residency programme”
The practice has long roots; the ancient Egyptian Ankmahor tomb, dating from 2400 BC, has relief sculpture depicting attendants working on the hands and feet of others. Corns and calluses were described by Hippocrates who invented skin scrapers. Until the early 1990’s they worked separately from organised medicine but were well recognised for their skills; the Kings of France, Napoleon and President Abraham Lincoln all had one.
The first society of chiropodists was established in New York in 1895 and one year later the British established a society at the London Foot Hospital where a training school was established in 1919.
Podiatrists will take a medical history and complete a physical examination. Their treatments include: minor foot surgery, the administration of local anaesthetic, prescribe limited medications, treat sports-related injuries, prescribe and fit orthotics, order or to some degree perform physical therapy, take and interpret X-rays, ultrasound, MRI's and other imaging studies. They often form part of a community health team in general practice. In the UK they can supply some prescription only medicines, perform injections and non-invasive surgery e.g. performing partial or total nail resection and removal, with chemical destruction of the tissues. This is similar in Australasia.
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/foothealt
www.scpod.org
www.iocp.org.uk
www.bcha-uk.org
Classification: Passive; Prevention/ergonomic
Reflexology
Reflexologists apply pressure to the feet and hands of the patients in the belief certain areas on the feet and hands, “reflex areas”, correspond with “zones” in the body and that they can effect physical change and improve the organs within those zones by manipulation of the feet and hands. They use specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without oil or lotion. Traditionally they divide the body into ten equal vertical zones, five on the right and five on the left and believe that the blockages of energy, the invisible life force “Qi”, weakens the body’s ability to heal. Many now feel they relieve stress and pain in other parts of the body through the manipulation of the feet and some have hypothesised it operates via the release of the body’s own chemicals such as endorphins.
In the U.K., whilst registration is voluntary, it is governed by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). Registrants are required to meet Standards of Proficiency outlined by Profession Specific Boards. In many other countries it is unregulated. Certainly it is popular; in Denmark a 2005 national survey apparently showed that 21.4% of the population had used it at some point in life and 6.1% within the last year.
Practices resembling reflexology are documented in Chinese and Ancient Egyptian history though it was introduced to the USA 1913 by William H. Fitzgerald, M.D. (1872–1942), an ENT specialist who used it to aid anaesthesia on other areas of the body. Modified in the 1930s and 1940s by Eunice D. Ingham (1889–1974), a nurse/physiotherapist, she mapped the entire body into "reflexes" on the feet renaming "zone therapy", reflexology. Her nephew, Mr. Byers, is now the director of the “International Institute of Reflexology” in Florida; primarily a teaching organisation it claims some 25,000 customers, “members”. In the UK the Association of Reflexologists is a membership and training organisation.
Both sites emphasise it is not aimed at diagnosis or primary treatment and that it “should not be used as an alternative to seeking medical advice”. They suggest, and many report it as so, that “your tension may be reduced and you might feel relaxed …. notice yourself sleeping better and find your mood and sense of wellbeing improving…… (you) may also find that other aspects (of health) improve too”
Use the Word - HTML converter to avoid dirty code and messy markup!
www.aor.org.uk/home/what-is-reflexology
www.reflexology-usa.net/
Classification: Passive
Reiki Therapy
A form of alternative medicine developed in 1922 by the Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. It uses "palm healing" or "hands-on-healing", with practitioners believing they transfer "universal energy" and encourage healing and emotional well-being. It is based on a belief in "chi", the universal life force. The word reiki, or in Japanese 霊気, means variously "mysterious atmosphere” or “miraculous sign" and was first used in over a thousand years ago. It combines"rei" meaning soul or spirit and "ki" meaning vital energy. Usui suffered a stroke and died on 9 March 1926. His memorial stone records that Usui taught his system of Reiki to over 2000 people during his lifetime.
www.reiki.org
www.reikimembership.com
Classification: Passive
Rolphing
Developed by Ida Rolf, (1896-1979), it is a physical technique for manipulating the body’s connective tissues with the aim of releasing “stress patterns within the human form”. It is a gentle and precise technique. Her belief was that the cause of human discomfort, both physical and emotional, may lie in our internal connective tissue and the relationship it has with the earth’s gravitational field. She argued the importance of the interaction between “self and gravity” and that if you correct any “misalignment (it) may eliminate or limit the stress”.
“Connective tissue” connects and separate different types of tissues and organs in the body and divides all animal bodies into functional units. Fascia is a firm sheet like type of connective tissue that adapts in response to demands placed on an individual's body and likewise physical damage. If it over compensates rather than helpfully stabilising movement it may instead reduce mobility change posture and altered movement patterns.
Rolf suggested that through deliberate, accurate and targeted movement of this tissue could deliver “over all relief and wellbeing”. Through the “Rolfing touch”, the elasticity and sliding capacity of the tissue can be restored and the body realigned in such a way that it is can function with more ease. Whilst we might be risking fundamentalist attack there appear to be clear links here to the thinking of Mackenzie and Myofascial Release Therapy with gravity/body weight being used as an additional tool to aid exercise.
Rolf began working on clients in New York in the 1930s and in 1971 founded the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado. Rolfing is described in two parts: “somatic (means body as opposed to mind) education” and "bodywork" the hands-on massage element. Typically performed in a progression of 10 sessions aiming to educate the body to improve alignment within gravity. Rolfers manipulate the fascia until they believe it is operating in conjunction with the muscles use a combination of active and passive movement retraining.
Separating fascial fibres manually to loosen them and allow effective movement is not controversial. Whilst Rolf’s claim of an association between emotions and the soft tissue has not been supported by scientific studies anyone who has had a massage, or indeed any hands on physical therapy, and the attention and interaction that it involves, will recognise the sense of wellbeing patients report.
www.rolfing.org
Classification: Passive
Shiatsu
Shiatsu means "finger pressure" in Japanese and techniques entail massage with fingers, thumbs, feet and palms; assisted stretching; and joint manipulation and mobilisation. The examination often involves palpation and, sometimes, pulse diagnosis.
Shiatsu derives from a Japanese method of massage called anma which was itself adapted from tui a Chinese technique that arrived in Japan in the 8th century. The first college was founded in the 1940's in Japan by Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000) who is credited with inventing modern shiatsu. The term shiatsu had earlier appeared in a book published 1919 called Shiatsu Ho, "finger pressure method", by Tamai Tempaku. And in 1925 the Shiatsu Therapists Association began distinguish itself from Anma massage.
Anma as distinct form of massage had developed in the thirteen hundreds and was then popularised by the acupuncturist, Sugiyama Waichi, in the sixteen hundreds and around that time the first books appeared including a "Manual of Anma".
At this time masseurs in Japan were often nomadic and frequently blind. Indeed there were a number of medical schools set up in this period specifically for the blind who were taught the method. Even today a large proportion of the Japanese blind community continue in the profession.
Modern history has not always been kind to the technique and its practitioners. The Allied occupation of Japan following World War II saw many aspects of traditional Japanese culture banned. Under General MacArthur this included traditional medicine and a large proportion of Japan's blind community were thrown into hardship. The Japanese beseeched him to reverse the ban. Eventually, the remarkable deaf blind writer and activist, Helen Keller, successfully joining the campaign.
Namikoshi's school taught Shiatsu within a framework of western medical science though others have since sought to reconnect it with its traditional eastern philosophical origins. Zen Shiatsu and Hiron Shiatsu, taking a more holistic and spiritual approach to healing are practiced mainly in Switzerland, France and Italy where their founders opened schools. They refer to an energy, "Ki", flowing through a network of acupuncture like meridians, and which has to be channelled to promote healing. You can just see how subversive McArthur must have found it.
www.shiatsusociety.org
www.shiatsufederation.eu
Classification: Passive