The History of Reflexology

Reflexology has been found to date back to numerous ancient civilisations. The earliest evidence was found in Saqqara, Egypt in the tomb of a physician called Ankhmahor. The tomb dates back to around 2500BC and contains hieroglyphs depicting treatments being given to the hands and feet. 

In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that a person's energy runs through the body along channels called meridians, the majority of which originate in the hands or feet. The belief is that stimulation of these meridians clears blockages or congestion and allows for the free flow of life energy or "chi".

At the turn of the 20th Century, Dr William Fitzgerald, an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, identified 10 zones running from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and hands. He found that deep pressure applied in one part of a zone had a numbing effect elsewhere in the same zone. This allowed him to perform minor surgical procedures without anaesthetic.

Zone Therapy was then refined by Dr Joseph Shelby Riley, who began to detail reflex points on the hands and feet.

Working with Dr Riley was a physiotherapist called Eunice Ingham. She developed the foot maps on which modern reflexology is based. She also discovered that, rather than using constant pressure to cause numbing, applying varied pressure to reflexes had a stimulating effect on the body. She is known as the "Mother of Reflexology".