Touch + Massage

Reflexology

based on zone therapy

was coined in Russia in the late 1800s for its psychological benefits

Zone Therapy

says the body is divided into ten longitudinal zones, that provide a simple numbering sequence

zones are distributed in the body like slices and when worked, work the entire zone of that body

based on concept that energy in the zones runs up, down, and between all body parts

not identicial to meridians, but often referred to as

Shoulder

hip

Forearm

calf

Upper Arm

thigh

Wrist

ankle

Elbow

knee

Hand

foot

Fingers

toes

Reflexology Theory

method of activating healing powers

Imbalance Causes

granular accumulations of waste matter concentrate around reflex points in the form of uric acid and calcium crystals

Balance

the receptor for this resides in the vestibular system in the ear

mediated by kinesthetic reflex fed by proprioception (senses location of head)

Somatosensory System

manages all forms of sensory input into our system

Skin Pigment

photoreceptors in the eye stimulate melanocytes to produce melanin in response to elevated ultraviolet light and darken the skin

Tactile Feedback

from proprioception and is derived from the proprioceptors in the skin, muscles, and joints

plays a role in setting tone, muscle tension, and joint position

Proprioception

estimates the location of objects sensed by the visual system (which confirms the place of the object relative to the body) as input to mechanical reflexes of the body

Fine Touch

discriminative touch

a sensory modality that allows a subject to sense and localize touch

posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway is responsible for sending this info to brains cerebral cortex

Crude Touch

non-discriminative touch

a sensory modality that allows the subject to sense that something has touched them without being able to localize where they were touched

Social Touch

the somatosensory cortex encodes incoming sensory information from receptors all over the body

Affective Touch

type of sensory information that elicits an emotional reaction and is usually social like human touch

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

encodes the intensity of affective touch

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

activates the feeling of pleasantness associated with affective touch

Cutaneous Receptors

sensory receptors found in the dermis or epidermis

Muscle Spindles

contain mechanoreceptors that detect stretch in muscles

Massage Effects

stimulates endorphin release to decrease pain

HPA-axis and sympathetic responses to stimulate stress or anti stress responses

deeper pressure stretches muscle and produces reflexogenic responses that affect A alpha nerves to improve proprioception

lower circulating effects of norepinephrine