Combination of treatments should be set against a background of practical experience and sound expertise. If several methods are combined in one treatment too early and because of uncertainty, this usually results in an indiscriminate mixture which satisfies no one.

Reflexotherapy of the feet (RTF) should therefore be given a chance to prove its effectiveness by being the only treatment offered to some patients in addition to their existing therapy program.

Naturally, a course of treatment would make most sense for those patients, as well as their friends and relatives perhaps, who are not currently taking any medication or undergoing any other kind of therapy.

The more certain we become in observing changes and reactions during treatment, the more naturally we are able to combine a number of particular aspects of different methods to provide optimum treatment.

RTF can be combined with the following methods to good effect:

• Physical therapy

• Traditional massage

• Manual lymph drainage

• Balneotherapy

• Inhalations, respiratory therapy

• Feldenkrais work, Alexander technique

• Chirotherapy

• Ortho-Bionomy

• Osteopathy, craniosacral therapy

Once some experience has been gained, the aforementioned methods may be combined in a single RTF treatment or offered at intervals on the same day.

Several of the aforementioned therapies can be combined within the framework of focused care for patients in hospitals and sanatoriums, where it is customary for inpatients to receive a series of daily treatments and a variety of medications.

Whenever possible, a neutral period of approximately 60 to 90 minutes should be ensured between two different kinds of treatment, thus allowing the applied therapeutic stimulus to be processed.

Given the variety of treatment options, decisions about the number of daily treatments should not be taken on a primarily commercial basis.

RTF has proven useful in combination with the following methods:

• Manual therapy and ortho-bionomy or similar measures in preparation and follow-up treatment to support and facilitate functional chains of movement

• Neural therapy for follow-up treatment of scars, muscle groups, joints, and organs

• Classical homeopathy to support acute and chronic treatment processes

• Bach Flower remedies and/or anthroposophical and other natural remedies to alleviate strong reactions

• Dietary measures and fasting cures to promote the function of the excretory organs

• Dental treatments, after oral surgery and to support the excretion of toxins and other waste matter during and after holistic treatment

Patients often come to practices after having been prescribed various medicines, some of which cause undesirable side-effects.

As the patient’s self-regulatory forces may be weakened by too many drugs or remedies, prescribed in an uncoordinated manner, the dosing of RTF as an additional therapy should be particularly carefully supervised.

As the complaints ease, the use of medications should be reviewed by the prescribing practitioner. The dosage can often be reduced or a particular medication replaced by a less harmful option.

As the representation of the whole person in the microsystem of the feet is essentially limited to the head, neck, and trunk, it has only been possible to treat the upper and lower extremities, above all in their distal regions, indirectly and nonspecifically via the zones of their nerve supply.

The treatment of the upper extremities is therefore performed via the zones of the lower cervical and upper thoracic spine (brachial plexus), as well as by mobilizing the metatarsophalangeal joints, especially those of the big toes.

However, collateral (same side) or contralateral (opposite side) treatment, also known as consensual therapy, can also be applied more specifically to the extremities. It is easy to incorporate into RTF.

Practical Rules

The following applies to the treatment of the extremities:

The other extremity in the assigned region is treated collaterally: arm on the leg and vice versa. The respective corresponding place is treated contralaterally on the extremity with the same name: left knee on the right and vice versa.

Reciprocal collateral equivalents are:

• Hip and shoulder joint

• Thigh and upper arm

• Knee and elbow

• Fibula and ulna

• Tibia and radius

• Medial/lateral ankle joint and medial/lateral wrist joint

• Big toe and thumb

• Four fingers and four toes

• Plantar side of the foot and palmar side of the hand.

The contralateral equivalents are obvious: the respective part of the upper or lower extremity with the same name.

This rule can also be applied to the pelvic and shoulder girdles: the scapula corresponds to the ilium and vice versa, the upper part of the scapula corresponds to the iliac crest and vice versa.

The collateral and the contralateral tissues are treated with massage grips which trigger good hyperemia, depending on the size of the section, using kneading or friction, for example. Smaller areas can also be treated with basic RTF grips.

Examples

• Strains in the left lower leg after fracture of the fibula are treated on the same anatomical site on the right lower leg (contralateral); Complaints in the left lower leg are treated at the related site on the left lower arm (ulna) (collateral).

• Patients with an extension bandage or plaster cast (extension treatment) after accidents. Intensive stimulation of the blood circulation on the collateral and contralateral sides can prevent atrophy of the tissue, and fractures will have a better chance of healing.

All areas which can be treated using the consensual rule in situ can be treated just as effectively on the zones of the feet. In addition, as the areas on the foot are smaller, far less time is required for treatment.

Example

Patient with epicondylitis on the right side.

Collateral treatment: the right knee zone is tonified; contralateral: the left elbow zone is also tonified. Naturally, the symptomatic zone of the right elbow can also be treated with a sedating grip, together with a series of other zones requiring treatment. As this is not a direct component of the aforementioned rule, however, it is not explored in more detail at this point.

RTF may frequently be chosen as the main treatment. To motivate patients to support the course of treatment with their own activities, the following accompanying measures lend themselves:

Posture and movement. By giving patients support and encouragement to overcome the weaknesses and shortcomings of their own posture and to practice natural movements, they can learn to use their musculoskeletal system more economically than before in their personal and professional lives. In recent decades a number of special methods have been developed which offer constructive aid in this direction: Eutonia, Feldenkrais, Alexander technique, etc.

Relying on one’s own experience regarding nutrition always produces the best and most reliable outcome as it is always more realistic than other people’s suggestions. This does not mean that patients should not get practical hints from relevant books on nutrition. These require critical analysis, however, as there is often fanaticism in the field of nutritional theories.

A common theme pervading all dietary and nutritional advice is that of hyperacidity. This is undoubtedly so topical because hyperacidity is not only a malfunction of the metabolic organs, but may also be deeply rooted in our fundamental attitude to life.

Respiration. Recommendations for healthy, functional respiration offered by experienced therapists are important not only for patients with respiratory problems, but also for those with psychosomatic difficulties and weaknesses.

Therapists who are able to teach their patients to become aware of their restricted or impeded respiration and to alter it through touch or exercises, create the best conditions for an improvement of their physical and emotional potential.

Heat regulation. Many people also tend to have cold feet in summer, even in warm climates. Persistently cold feet are an expression of the person’s inability to make efficient use of their vital energy. There are many reasons for this, ranging from chronic constipation, spinal injuries, and disordered breathing to problems in the psychosocial environment.

Well-known measures such as Kneipp hydrotherapy and Schiele baths to improve sluggish circulation have produced convincing results for decades due to their circulation-enhancing effect.

Active exercising of the feet, vigorous brushing of the soles of the feet and above all, the natural stimuli of light, fresh air, and contact with the earth when walking barefoot can noticeably improve the patient’s general condition.

Holistic tooth restoration. The most obvious function of our teeth is that of mastication of food. However, the teeth constitute a microsystem interconnected with the whole organism in just the same way as the ears, nasopharynx, eyes, hands, and feet, etc.

Like all other organs, teeth also provide clear signals in terms of body language and distinct emotional connections, as proved by expressions in many languages such as “to bare one’s teeth,” “to clench one’s teeth,” “to be fed up to the back teeth,” or “to set one’s teeth on edge.” The designation of the eighth tooth as a “wisdom” tooth is also similar in many different languages.

• forgiving and asking for forgiveness;

• respecting and tolerating the decisions and opinions of others, especially if they do not coincide with your own.

Hands and feet both have a direct relationship with the whole person, but in a different way.

Hands are linked to specific tasks and areas of life. They are usually open to the world and ready to maintain contact and are used literally to “handle” matters. Their radius of movement in the element of air is more comprehensive and many of their functions and activities are related to partnership and emotions.

On the other hand, the “partner” of the feet is the earth, which through its resistance helps us to assume an upright position and at the same time motivates us to move forward with determination.

Many people are made aware of the fact that the feet have a closer connection to our overall physical well-being than the hands on a daily basis. It is difficult to fall asleep with cold feet; mothers of today still know that their children should avoid getting cold, wet feet because getting too cold in this way is often directly related to the development of sore throats, bladder, and kidney infections, coughs, earache, and bronchitis.

Walking barefoot in meadows, forests, and on the seashore is valued highly by those in the know and should be practiced as often as possible. Natural stimulus has an invigorating effect, restorative effect, and promotes good circulation while also connecting us inwardly with “Mother Earth.”

Compared with the hands, the feet are often more neglected and restricted, not least as a result of cultural and environmental conditions. Thus, we can observe that pathological changes are usually more obvious in neglected areas than in wellcared for areas.

Treatment of the hands is not as widespread as that of the feet, although the hands would permit a freer approach to treatment because they are better looked after and more used to being touched than the feet.

Hand zones, though, have proved to be useful as a supplement or alternative to the zones of the feet, for example, for patients with amputated legs and those who have had accidents or suffered other trauma to the feet, or when the feet are in plaster.

Furthermore, we can use the zones of the hands in combination with those of the feet, integrating the symptomatic zones to reinforce the result, for instance. In addition, the hands provide a practical homework assignment for treatment in which patients themselves can make an active contribution to improving their health.

The 10 body zones of FitzGerald can largely be applied to the hands in the same way as the feet. A division of the hands into three areas is also possible:

1. The fingers are related to the head/neck.

2. The distal part of the palm corresponds to the thorax and upper abdomen.

3. The proximal part, including the carpal bones, corresponds to the abdominal and pelvic region.

The hand zones are treated with the grips known from RTF because here too the aim of therapy is to ensure a good supply of blood to the tissue.

Some zones of the hand are especially suitable for treatment in patients with acute symptoms or pain, for example:

• Vigorous stretching of the zone of the stomach in the interdigital fold between the thumb and index finger has proved successful in treating a feeling of fullness or heartburn.

• With toothache, the acute treatment of the zones of the teeth on the middle and proximal phalanges of the fingers usually has just as spontaneous an effect as on the toes and can help to bridge the hours and days when the dentist is unavailable in a relatively pain-free manner. The zones of the teeth are arranged in the same sequence and anatomical position as on the foot.

• Stretching the interdigital folds between all the fingers provides great relief at the onset of a cold and for hay fever and can also be employed by the patient as a preventive measure several times a day.