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Reflexology Research in Europe

2/6/2014

Last month I was honoured to be invited to speak about RLD at two reflexology conferences. The first, Reflexology in Europe RiEN, was held on the beautiful island of Madeira, and the second, was The Clinical Reflexology in Palliative care conference at The Christie Hospital. It was exciting to be able to share some interim data from the research. So far so good!
We have entered the final stages of the study, 20 of the participants have finished, a further 7 are currently receiving RLD treatments and we still have space for a further 3. There's still time, if you know anyone with secondary lymphoedema of the arm, as result of treatment for breast cancer, living near Cardiff, to take part.

Before (Top) & After (Middle) (Left Before - Right After)

While in Madeira, one of the delegates had a some lymphoedema, which was exacerbated by the flight and heat. Swelling was evident, (without measuring) particularly in the hand, as seen above. After 40 minute RLD, visible changes can be seen here, particularly to the appearance of the skin.

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Photographic evidence of Reflexology Lymph Drainage

31/1/2014

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These photographs were taken immediately before and after a Reflexology Lymph Drainage treatment, 40 minutes apart. Look closely at the difference in the skin, as well as the shape of the hand and fingers. Using a series of 4cm cylinder measurements we are able to calculate the excess fluid volume of the arm, which enables us to see the changes in swelling. This is not the case with the hand, because the arm measurements start 2cm above the wrist.

Some of the people that I meet, with swelling in the hand (as well as in the arm), say that its the hand that bothers them the most. A swollen hand is more visible and harder to disguise. The compression gloves, which must be worn to support and protect the hand also draw attention to it. Several women have talked about how people often ask, "what have you done to your hand?" Not wanting to discuss it, some choose to brush off the question with, "oh, I fell over last week". These situations can have a negative impact on self-confidence.

The top photograph clearly shows where the watch was tight on the wrist before receiving RLD. Below we can see how loose the watch strap was after.

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Similarities between MLD and RLD

21/9/2013

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Two days ago I was a guest speaker at NACTHPC (National Association of Complementary Therapists in Hospice and Palliative Care) conference, and what a lovely audience they were! I spoke for an hour about RLD, from the thinking behind it, the process of conducting clinical research, the results, limitations of the study and plans for ongoing and future research.

The audience were practitioners of a range of complementary therapies and not all of them were reflexologists. Some of the delegates were MLD Lymphoedema specialists, one of whom made a very interesting observation about the RLD results. It seems that during a 3 week intensive course of MLD treatment, they would expect to see a similar patter of results. The initial treatment yields the greatest reduction, with subsequent treatments given to consolidate the results.

RLD is still very much in its infancy, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the results from the initial research, please see the graph below.

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Reflexology Research in Europe

Photographic evidence of Reflexology Lymph Drainage

Similarities between MLD and RLD

Reflexology Lymph Drainage

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