Due to these reasons, people with chronic joint problems are turning to other allied health professions for more effective long-term solutions. Acupuncture and Reflexology are two alternative therapies that have recently shown to be effective in pain relief for a range of different health issues. These methods, when practiced by a trained professional, are safe and relatively inexpensive in comparison to the long-term costs of drugs and medication. They can also assist in promoting general health and immunity and aid in preventing the progression of disease and further joint degeneration.
There are currently many different drugs and therapies available on the market for dealing with pain. According to the nature of the problem and the severity, individuals will see a doctor and attempt to find a course of action that provides the greatest benefits. This may be anti-inflammatory or pain-reducing medication, or in more severe cases, corticosteroid injections. These methods, in general, are effective in reducing pain; however, they often only mask the problem and do not solve the underlying issues. This can be a concern as it may allow the joint or injury to deteriorate further, and in some cases, certain medication can cause unwanted side effects. Pain-killing drugs do not in any way aid in promoting self-management strategies for health and prevention of further injury.
Ankle pain can be a signal of chronic ankle instability, which leaves individuals particularly susceptible to joint damage and pain in the surrounding areas. This is often accompanied by giving way of the joint and a feeling of repeated ankle rolling. It can also increase the risk of developing acute or chronic pain in the knee, hip, and spine due to an alteration in walking mechanics. Essentially, these problems can have a large impact on the quality of life in individuals, leaving them in search of effective methods of pain relief.
Foot pain and ankle pain are very common issues that podiatrists, foot health professionals, and aged care nurses deal with every day. These problems can range in severity from chronic to acute and can be caused by influences such as injury, degenerative diseases, sports, and other overuse activities. As feet are the primary source of mobility, this issue can lead to a number of other health-related issues.
Overview of foot pain and ankle pain
Ankle and foot pains can be, putting it straightforwardly, a real pain in the you-know-where to relieve. The reason for this is that the feet and ankles take the brunt of the force that our various daily activities throw at our bodies. Whether it be going for a run, carrying around heavy objects, or simply standing up, our feet and ankles are involved in every step (literally) that we take. Over time, the continuous use and occasional misuse of our feet and ankles can cause pains ranging from the mildly irritating to the extremely severe. These pains can come in many forms: an aching soreness, searing tenderness, sharp stabs, agonizing throbs, and so forth. Some pains are contradictions of themselves; they may hurt, feel numb, tingle, or be sensitive to the touch. Other discomforts include swelling and bruising. The location of the pain and the symptoms that accompany them can be vast, thus identifying specific conditions that cause foot and ankle pain is an important step towards finding effective pain relief.
Importance of finding effective pain relief methods
The causes of foot and ankle pain are many and varied, with some overuse injuries, such as plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendonitis, already reaching the chronic stage by the time a person seeks medical treatment. Often quite difficult to pinpoint the cause of discomfort, pain occurring in any part of the foot or ankle can be debilitating and can have a profound impact on quality of life. The severity of pain can vary and can be intermittent or constant. In some cases, pain is present only when one is bearing weight on the affected area, and in other cases, weight bearing is not possible. Such is the case for individuals with acute to chronic foot and ankle pain due to osteoarthritis. It is evident that foot and ankle pain is not exclusive to athletes; people of all ages and activity levels can be affected, and the increasing prevalence of obesity is contributing to a rise in foot and ankle pain in the general population. In consideration of the functional anatomy of the lower limb, pain can greatly inhibit mobility and independence in completing activities of daily living. Pain on weight-bearing areas of the foot can alter one’s gait pattern, which can lead to overuse injuries in other areas of the body and an increased risk of falling in elderly individuals. Oftentimes, discomfort in the foot and ankle is accepted as a natural part of aging and is neglected as an area of remediable health concern. But if quality of life can be improved by alleviating foot and ankle pain, it is an issue worthy of attention. With the potential for healing acute musculoskeletal injury and managing chronic pain of degenerative conditions, the necessity of effective methods for pain relief is clear.
Acupuncture for Foot and Ankle Pain Relief
Finally, acupuncture can speed up the process of healing an acute injury and preventing a chronic condition. Acute injuries can turn into chronic conditions if the affected area has not healed properly and is aggravated too soon, or if it is reinjured. For example, if you sprain your ankle, the ligaments may not have healed properly and are too weak to support your weight. If you begin walking or running too soon on this ankle, you may aggravate the injury and turn a sprain into more serious conditions such as tendonitis or a torn ligament. By increasing the rate of healing an injury, you are reducing the chance of reinjury and chronic conditions.
Acupuncture will also improve circulation to the injured area by the action of vasodilation. Vasodilation occurs when the smooth muscles that surround the blood vessels are relaxed, allowing more blood to flow to that area. This is important because blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells and removes their waste.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese form of medicine that has been practiced for nearly 2500 years. It is gaining recognition in Western culture as a valid therapy for many conditions. Acupuncture can help relieve pain by increasing the production of the body’s natural painkillers, such as endorphin and encephalin. It can change the way your body senses pain. Researchers are using MRI’s to show that when acupuncture is performed, the brain is lighting up in many areas that are also responsible for our sensation of pain. Acupuncture can also lower inflammation levels by promoting the release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors. When you suffer from an injury, there is often inflammation at the site which causes redness, swelling, and heat. This is a normal way your immune system reacts to an injury, but sometimes the immune cells will begin to attack the normal tissue in that area, which causes more pain and could lead to chronic conditions. By reducing the amount of inflammation, you are reducing the amount of time needed to heal an injury. Acupuncture is a safe, non-invasive way to reduce the level of inflammation by promoting the release of certain hormones and chemicals in your body.
Explanation of acupuncture and its benefits
In two studies with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis patients, it was shown that acupuncture was able to provide pain relief and restore torn fibers in the connective tissue. With the restoration of fibers in the connective tissues and an increase in pain threshold, this can aid in foot and ankle pain relief from various conditions. Fibromyalgia often interferes with the ability to perform regular work or leisure activities, and 90% of people with this disorder report moderate to severe pain in the form of foot and ankle pain. Fibromyalgia is a disorder that is linked to weak and deficient flowing energy, and acupuncture can bring a change since the results of PET scans on activation of acupuncture points showed an actual increase in blood flow in certain regions of the brain.
In modern medicine, needling specific points affects sensory neurons to cause the body to emit endorphins and opioids, which cause pain relief and increase the pain threshold. A positron emission tomography scan is taken of the human body, which depicts the radiographic images that the radioactive pharmaceutical sends off on the neural system. From these scans, it shows that opioid compounds that are released through stimulation of acupuncture points in the body have a significant effect on the central nervous system.
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force known as qi or chi (chee). This flow of energy in the human body runs through pathways called meridians, and stimulating points along these pathways can promote the body’s natural healing and improve functioning. Any interference or disruption to these energy flow pathways results in pain or diminished function. Stimulating these points and movement of vital energy can result in pain relief and an improvement in functioning.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy that is practiced globally. The theory behind this alternative medicine revolves around the concept of “qi” (pronounced “chee”), the life force that is believed to circulate the body. It is thought that when qi does not flow properly, a person experiences ill health, and by applying acupuncture to certain points, the life force can be directed to areas where it is needed.
How acupuncture can help alleviate foot and ankle pain
Largely, many chronic and acute foot and ankle pain conditions are due to underlying osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. In these conditions, the cartilage slows breaking down and causes narrowing of the joint space. This will cause stress on joint surfaces, creating pain and decreasing joint stability. This damage to the joint surface often causes synovitis. Acupuncture can have a powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, especially with electro-acupuncture where a micro-current is attached to the needle. The needle acts as a lightning rod by discharging the micro-current directly to the affected area and thereby increasing the treatment intensity at the location. This will control the pain from synovitis and reestablish the stable state of the joint by increasing pain-free ROM. A high rate of satisfaction can be expected in treating patients with these conditions.
Acupuncture can be an effective therapy for foot and ankle pain. An increasing number of medical doctors are either choosing to include acupuncture in their treatments or are referring patients to acupuncturists. This is because in the last several years, there has been an increasing body of evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture for pain control. Actually, it puts acupuncture in the top level of evidence as a highly effective adjunct treatment for these painful conditions.
Foot Reflexology for Foot and Ankle Pain Relief
Identifying exactly how the reflexology has helped foot and ankle pain is more difficult. In a case study where a patient was treated for foot pain, the MRI scan before and after reflexology showed a significant reduction in inflammation of the plantar fascia, although the patient had no other treatment except for some medication and the changes in the foot condition had no reliable temporal correlation with the reflexology treatment sessions. The reflexologist did do more work on the area of the foot affected by the plantar fasciitis, and as the discomfort of the affected area in question can increase after reflexology treatment on another part of the foot, this suggests that the changes in the foot were affected by the reflexology.
Some evidence has shown that foot reflexology can help to reduce the symptoms of foot and ankle conditions, but it is dependent on the skill of the reflexologist. In the case of kidney stones, symptom reduction was experienced by forty-eight percent of people who had undergone a period of treatment with reflexology. The reason for this is because the treatment of kidney stones in traditional Chinese medicine uses the principles of chi and the meridian system to find points on the feet which correspond to the area of the kidneys and aim to disperse the build-up of energy and crystallized toxins so as to help the body expel them. This principle of identifying and treating an illness that reflexology uses is identical to the methods used in traditional acupuncture, where specific points on the body are sought out and fixed up using a non-intrusive method. With symptom reduction for ankle injuries, a study of 21 university lecturers found that reflexology treatment on the affected ankles two times each week caused a significant reduction in the severity of pain and an increase in ankle function.
Understanding foot reflexology and its principles
Reflexology is an alternative and natural treatment in which a practitioner will stimulate a series of specific locations on the feet where the energy flow through the body is blocked or disrupted. The therapy involves the application of pressure to these reflex points in order to re-establish homeostasis. The effectiveness of the reflexology treatment is largely dependent on the ability of the practitioner to locate the congested reflexes. Awareness of the reflex location comes only after a strong foundation in anatomy, physiology, and an understanding of the nervous, energy, and body systems. This will help the practitioner to make a proper assessment of the patient’s chief complaints, while suggesting the organs or systems which may be a contributing factor. Success in the reflexology treatment can only be judged by the alleviation of the chief complaint, improved organ function, and an increased sense of well-being for the client. This system of treatment is ideal for pain cases or chronic conditions for which the usual hands-on treatments may already have failed.
Application of foot reflexology for pain relief
It improves the anatomy of the feet by promoting the healing process, accompanied by returning the body to its state of equilibrium and well-being. Indications of pain would be focused more on the diseased part and its surroundings during the session to effect therapeutic process. Regular sessions would be done to monitor progress as well as to reinforce the body in its fight to regain health. One common question that is often asked is, “How do I know that my practitioner is practicing the right reflex point to relieve the pain?” A good and responsible practitioner would have spent time discussing with the patient beforehand to understand the nature of the patient’s health and come up with a treatment plan. Post-treatment results would then be evaluated to see if any improvement has been achieved. Steps of positive improvement would mean continuous strengthening of the reflex point even after the pain is gone as a prevention measure. A reflex map would be drawn out and improved throughout the treatment process as each patient’s response to reflexology is different.
Comparing Acupuncture and Foot Reflexology
Given the fact that different clinical conditions may require different treatment approaches, it is difficult to make a direct comparison between these two methods. However, comparing them in the context of musculoskeletal treatment, acupuncture is often the preferred treatment for acute injuries, as it is able to provide pain relief and has an effect local to the injured area. This is particularly useful in the early stages of rehab, when a patient may not be able to fulfill a treatment session. In contrast, foot reflexology is beneficial for chronic conditions, and many of the different massage techniques can be utilized to work on soft tissue, ultimately having a general relaxing effect. In cases of systemic or complex conditions, reflexology may be the only realistic treatment option.
Acupuncture and foot reflexology are both well-documented conservative management strategies that relieve foot and ankle pain. The fundamental differences between these treatment methods lie in the actual techniques used to stimulate tissues. Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles into specific points on the body. These points have been mapped by the Chinese over a period of 2000 years. Recently, electromagnetic research has confirmed their locations. It is now thought that these points are strategic conductive sites. Acupuncture can also be performed away from the painful site, and often is in cases of chronic or systemic conditions. Foot reflexology, however, involves the application of pressure to specific points on the foot, which correspond to different areas of the body. The actual techniques are taught by international training schools, and a variety of resources can be found online, including detailed maps of how to apply the pressure.
Differences between acupuncture and foot reflexology
Reflexologists use a model of a “reflex arc” where the stimulation of a specific area on the foot will send a direct signal to the matching area of the body. This is based on the theory that an area on the foot corresponds to congestion or tension in a related area in the body. Stimulating the reflex to alleviate a problem in the body is often done by applying specific pressure techniques using the hands or fingers. Like acupuncture, the end goal of the treatment is to encourage the body to make a positive change towards better health.
Acupuncture and reflexology are two techniques for treating the same areas of the body. Acupuncture is based on the Chinese principle that certain patterns of energy within the body move in channels called meridians. This energy, known as Qi, moves throughout the body and can be influenced and rebalanced to alleviate pain or discomfort. Each meridian superficially links with a specific organ. Our foot is said to be the home of six meridians, making it an ideal place for treatment. By inserting a needle at specific points, the aim is to bring about a change in the energy flow within the body and ultimately back into balance. Acupuncture points are situated all over the body, not just at the area of pain.
Pros and cons of each method for foot and ankle pain relief
For foot reflexology, the pros of foot and ankle pain release mainly lie in that it’s very simple and non-invasive and can be conducted by the sufferer themselves or with the help of another. The movements are slow and calculated and use minimal gear, which makes it an ideal home therapy to alleviate foot and ankle pain with minimal hassle and expense. The therapy brings a pleasant and relaxing sensation to the feet and ankles and has a general relaxing effect on the body. The therapy is safe and doesn’t affect acute conditions adversely. The cons are that it can be time-consuming and requires patience to learn about the precise points and areas on the feet that relate to the location of the foot and ankle pain. The therapy may initially cause an exacerbation of the symptoms before they get better, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing because acute conditions need to turn into chronic ones before they fully heal. The biggest reported pitfall to foot reflexology is that it doesn’t work on people with foot ticklishness and that sometimes, changing footwear can cause a break in progress made.