In the Universal College of Reflexology class Professional Foot Reflexology Practitioner program our students learn about the meaning of pain and its important messages.

Here is an interesting article on this very subject in the latest BBC Knowledge magazine.

Pain is essential.  On rare occasions, babies are born who can’t feel pain and this means they keep damaging themselves.  Some bite through their own fingers and have to have their teeth removed; while learning to walk leads to falls, cuts, breaks and infections. 

Life can’t be lived to the full without pain.  Pain protects your body with sensors in the skin, muscles, joints and internal organs.  Two types of nerves take signals to the spinal cord and then to the brain’s specialised pain-processing centres.  Fast delta fibres respond to sudden stimuli and produce a sharp pain so that you act quickly to escape the hot stove or to protect the cut knee.  Slow C-fibres lead to dull, long-lasting pain that can prevent you moving an injured limb or joint, or force you to rest.

Today, our Professional Foot Reflexology Practitioner students are learning a sequence in which we introduce our special “knuckling technique”.  This is a  relatively gentle “feel good” move that gives your thumbs a break.  And the bonus is that your client’s love how great this particular knuckling technique feels. 

The Universal College of Reflexology knuckling technique is not to be confused with the extremely heavy and deep pressure associated with Chinese Reflexology.  Those of you who have already experienced Chinese Reflexology and their knuckles pushing deeply into your foot know how painful that can be – brings tears to grown men’s eyes!

Some of you may recall that when I first started learning Reflexology I had arthritis in my fingers and thumbs causing swollen knuckles, deformity and constant pain.  At first I found Reflexology a struggle given the state of my fingers and thumbs.  Particularly my thumbs with all the traditional thumb walking required by Reflexology.  It was such a relief when the specific part of the sequence called for knuckling as my thumbs were aching at this point.  By the way, about 18 months into my Reflexology practice the arthritis I had lived with for so many years had all but disappeared.  And, that was by giving Reflexology not receiving it! 

So for our Professional Foot Reflexology Practitioner students practice this knuckling technique in your sequence that we are teaching today in our fantastic Virtual Classroom.  Like me you are going to love knuckling and your clients will absolutely love this “fell good” Reflexology technique. 

Caution – if your client has heavy calluses and their skin is hard and rough, then return to the default of thumb walking. This will protect your knuckles from damage and irritation caused by the rough skin of your client’s feet.