The Tenacious Student
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A factual account of my quest to gain a PhD from the perspective of a non-academic at the University of Portsmouth, UK in a Science faculty that did not have a dedicated complementary medicines department.
This book tells of the challenges of research, of complex relationship issues and the highs and lows of academia. It is a compassionate, honest and emotional journey that resulted in the worlds first PhD in reflexology and pain management.
A factual account of my quest to gain a PhD from the perspective of a non-academic at the University of Portsmouth, UK in a Science faculty that did not have a dedicated complementary medicines department.
This book tells of the challenges of research, of complex relationship issues and the highs and lows of academia. It is a compassionate, honest and emotional journey that resulted in the worlds first PhD in reflexology and pain management.
A little insight from the book...
The results we had obtained from the first participants in the ice-pain tests already showed a significant effect from reflexology on both pain threshold and tolerance levels compared to the sham T.E.N.S control. The results also demonstrated that reflexology was having a beneficial impact on heart rate; for example, heart rate was lower in the group receiving reflexology than it was in the control group. This was important because heart rate is thought to increase as pain increases(36). My results were demonstrating that the effect on pain threshold and tolerance was independent of any autonomic changes in the heart rate and therefore an important validation for reflexology.
Just a little bit more...
In stressful situations the HPA axis plays a role in balancing the activity of the autonomic nervous system through a series of hormonal signals. For example, when the brain perceives something as dangerous the sympathetic nervous system goes on high alert, then as the danger or stressful event subsides, the parasympathetic nervous system takes control, and our body returns to normal. But when you’re experiencing chronic stress this repeated activity in the HPA axis turns off the negative feedback loop so that circulation of cortisol, released from the adrenal glands, continues to circulate. This causes an ongoing neurochemical exchange which creates imbalance and initiates a long list of negative responses in the body. But why am I telling you this?
And finally...
There are many questions for which we don’t know the answers in reflexology, for example:
The results we had obtained from the first participants in the ice-pain tests already showed a significant effect from reflexology on both pain threshold and tolerance levels compared to the sham T.E.N.S control. The results also demonstrated that reflexology was having a beneficial impact on heart rate; for example, heart rate was lower in the group receiving reflexology than it was in the control group. This was important because heart rate is thought to increase as pain increases(36). My results were demonstrating that the effect on pain threshold and tolerance was independent of any autonomic changes in the heart rate and therefore an important validation for reflexology.
Just a little bit more...
In stressful situations the HPA axis plays a role in balancing the activity of the autonomic nervous system through a series of hormonal signals. For example, when the brain perceives something as dangerous the sympathetic nervous system goes on high alert, then as the danger or stressful event subsides, the parasympathetic nervous system takes control, and our body returns to normal. But when you’re experiencing chronic stress this repeated activity in the HPA axis turns off the negative feedback loop so that circulation of cortisol, released from the adrenal glands, continues to circulate. This causes an ongoing neurochemical exchange which creates imbalance and initiates a long list of negative responses in the body. But why am I telling you this?
And finally...
There are many questions for which we don’t know the answers in reflexology, for example:
- What physiological changes occur when reflexology pressure is applied to the feet?
- How does the skin adapt when pressure is applied and what neuronal changes take place?
- Does it matter how deep we work for reflexology to be effective?
- Are other cell changes taking place?
- Is the pressure itself sensed in the plasma or the cell?
- What happens in the circulatory system…blood and lymph?
- Are there autonomic changes occurring from the pressure applied?
- How can we tell if endorphins are released?