Reflexology & Migraines
Migraine is a recurring headache, commencing with constriction of blood vessels in the brain followed by expansion which allows engorgement of vessels. It may be single or double-sided, with nausea, vomiting, speech difficulties, visual disturbances, emotional stress and tension.
Half of all migraine patients suffer from anxiety and one in five experiences depression. Causes are varied and many, alcohol, coffee and caffeine stimulants, gluten food allergies, dairy products, chocolate, citrus fruits. Sometimes it is related to carbohydrate metabolism. It may be associated with emotional disturbances, nervous or physical fatigue, liver, stomach or kidney disturbances or the pill.
Symptoms may include temporary blindness or sight may be only half the visual field. There may be flashing lights, throbbing headaches, reaction to loud noises, which worsen it, nausea, vomiting and depression. The condition can sometimes be linked to the menstrual cycle.
Jill was 42 when she came to me with extreme problems of migraine which had been a part of her life for seven years. The attacks had become so serious that her job in the BBC, which was demanding, stressful and involved very long hours was abut to come to an end as she had had several warnings about her absenteeism which was getting worse. She did in fact spend at least seven days in bed every month with such bad migraines that she was unable to sit up without vomiting.
She frequently lost the vision in one of her eyes and had tingling and numb sensations in both her arms. The usual doctor’s medicines which had been prescribed had very little result. The treatments given to her gave such serious side effects that they were almost as bad as the condition from which she was suffering.
The quality of her life, she said was such that she often wondered whether it was worth going on, and the pain was so extreme that she had on occasions considered taking an overdose in order, she said, to end it all.
Reflexology had been recommended to her by a work colleague who had sought out a Reflexology practitioner for a similar condition, with great results. As is usual in the treatment of migraine, the target and most sensitive areas that present themselves in the feet are the liver and stomach, and I always feel that it is a toxic liver that causes the frequent eruptions of toxins into the bloodstream which start the whole procedure going. Therefore the whole approach to treatment from Reflexology would be to improve the liver function – namely to help detoxify and also strengthen the functioning of the stomach.
The sensitivity in her liver was such as I have never before experienced. Even the slightest feather-like contact brought tears to her eyes which told me that her liver was in an extremely delicate state, a lot to do with the condition but more to do with the vast volumes of drugs she had consumed over the past seven years.
Apart from her stressful job which she enjoyed her lifestyle seemed quite pleasant. She was married with a couple of teenage children who didn’t seem to cause much stress and all in all I would say that if it were not for her migraine she would have had quite a pleasant lifestyle.
The reflex areas in her cervical spine, the top of the brain too told a lot of stories, as did the neck area. We often hold a lot of stress and tension in our shoulders and neck. I am sure you have all heard it said “It’s a real pain in the neck’. I gave her a very light general treatment but was not able to work out the liver area as effectively as needed due to the extreme sensitivity.
The following morning her husband telephoned me to say that his wife had had such severe reaction to the treatment that she was in bed, vomiting with not such severe head pain but had been up all night with excessive bowel actions and vomiting attacks. I explained to him that although this was distressing I was sure that we were on the right tracks and that if she could just tolerate this situation and return for some more treatment we would then be able to improve her migraine greatly. I advised the patient to drink a lot of pure lemon juice to flush out the liver and keep off all solid food for a couple of days. Jill did exactly as she was told as she was so anxious to find a solution to this condition which was ruining her life.
She referred to me four days later and said that she felt rather wear and wobbly but that the migraine attacks or reaction to treatment, or whatever it was had subsided and she did actually feel a bit clearer in her head.
The second treatment produced a similar reaction to the first, only much less severe and the third treatment brought about a rash which covered the whole body. Which I was sure was another way of nature eliminating waste.
On the fifth appointment she said that for the day following the treatment she passed a lot of dark coloured urine which again I am sure was the kidney eliminating a lot of waste material.
The usual pattern of a week of migraine per month did not continue as during the next month the migraine did start but lasted only one day and she was able to return to work. She did not have the vomiting or the nauseous feeling and the head pain was very minimal. “I really can’t believe it” she said, this is an absolute miracle. I have tried so many other treatments but to no avail.”
Jill did return to me for a further nine weeks on a regular basis and eventually we got the migraine attack down to just a very muzzy feeling in her head and for the first time in seven years she was able to manage three months at work.
There after she cane to me once a month for one session of treatment which seemed to keep the condition at bay. This is highly recommended, particularly in the treatment of chronic illness, as it stops the toxic state occurring or building up in the body as it had done before. In my opinion migraine is all to do with digestion poor elimination and stress.