Reflex Points Research Articles

A força da resiliência: um estudo de revisão sobre as contribuições do pensamento lateral no trabalho do enfermeiro

resiliência consiste na capacidade de o indivíduo se manter bem, recuperar-se, e ser bem-sucedido frente às adversidades, que reflete na capacidade de ultrapassar limites interiores em situações de riscos do contexto psicossocial. Este artigo consiste em um estudo exploratório com abordagem qualitativa, na modalidade de revisão de literatura. É discutido o conceito de resiliência e pensamento lateral, os quais contribuem para potencializar as ações dos enfermeiros, tornando-os motivados, focados, positivos, flexíveis, organizados e pró-ativos. A conclusão da revisão demonstra, no entanto, que a literatura pertinente à resiliência dos enfermeiros revela pontos reflexivos. Contudo, com a aplicação dos conceitos do pensamento lateral e da resiliência na execução das atividades dos enfermeiros a estimulação da imaginação criativa possibilitam a ultrapassar diversas barreiras. Apesar da sobrecarga de atividades os enfermeiros conseguem utilizar seus talentos criativos e encontram novas soluções para os problemas, para contribuir com o crescimento e o desenvolvimento das instituições de saúde.

Reflexões sobre a socialização da conservação arqueológica preventiva em Espanha

This paper proposes a reflection on the evolution of the concept of preventive conservation in archaeology and its social interaction (or socialization), from a reflexive and theoretical point of view. It is a manuscript that outlines the current role of Preventive Conservation Plans and how the participation of society in heritage management is addressed. Heritage is understood as a multi-temporal entity that transcends the materiality of the object and enables us to turn towards a preventive archaeological conservation that preserves current contexts and their stories, integrated into participatory or community archaeology. Through a series of questions, the reader will become an active player in questioning who conservation actions are targeted at, whether society or experts. Lastly, it will outline some proposals for promoting a preventive conservation that tackles, transforms and broadens its desired social dimension.

PRACTICE ANALYSIS ON SAFETY CARE PROCESS OF PRACTITIONERS TOWARD REFLEXOLOGY TREATMENT

Introduction: Practice analysis is a set of planned procedures used to classify the key elements of the job, such as the task performed or the nature of the worker required. In other words, practice analysis is the basis for the validity of the examinations used for professional regulatory purposes. Reflexology is a popular alternative treatment in massage, in which pressure is applied on a specific form of feet and hands to reflex point and give impacts on health which relates some part of the body. Objective: To explore safety care process implementation among practitioners towards foot reflexology. Method: Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with practitioners in Klang Valley. The case study will be used to illustrate the various ways qualitative research data may be recorded. This research has been used multiple case study with embedded (type 4) as stated in figure 1 for focus practitioners in a different reflexology treatment center or Traditional Complementary and Medicine center that provide reflexology treatment. For the sampling design, the researcher will choose purposive sampling and snowball sampling. The data gathered from the interview are analyzed using Thematic Analysis (TA). Result: The finding of this study is based on the interpretation and analysis of data obtained through the process of semi-structured interviews. Safety process intended for reflexologists involved in administering the therapy especially therapeutic purposes. It is proposed to be a relevant, flexible, accessible and practical report that respects practitioners and the procedure setting of their work Conclusion: This safety process during treatment proves by using the guideline on reflexology for reflexologist practicing, procedure process of care and precaution in client handling.

Effects of Reflexology Strategy on the Mothers Breast Milk Volume and Their Premature Weight Gain

Background: Reflexology means the application of the manual the pressure to specific points of the feet called "reflex points" that are believed to correspond to other parts of the body. The study aimed to assess the effect of reflexology strategy on the mother’s breast milk volume and their premature weight gain.
 Design: An experimental design was used to conduct the study. A convenience sample of 120 Primiparous mothers and their preterm infants was chosen based on systematic simple random.
 Methods: Three tools were designed by the researchers to collect the necessary data to implement the reflexology strategy framework. 1.Structured interview questionnaire sheet, 2. Assessment observational checklist sheet for Premature using 2 scales: A. Transitioning from tube feeds to oral feeds, B. The Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale, three Evaluation Phase observational checklist based on Mother-Infant- Breastfeeding Progress Tool (MIBPT):
 Statistical Analysis: The collected data were coded, analyzed, figured and tabulated using frequencies and percentage, mean, standard deviation & chi-square tests.
 Results: There were a statistically significant difference and marked improvement in reflexology group total scores of feeding performance (P < 0.001) after intervention for 6 weeks approved of reflexology strategy. Reflexology group majority (88.3%) demonstrated good breastfeeding as compared to (55.2%) in the study group. 
 Conclusion: The present study highlights the effect of reflexology strategy on the mother’s satisfaction, breast milk volume, and their premature weight gain. On the other hand, intervention accelerates the early transition of premature from the tube feeding to breastfeeding and discharge from the hospital.
 Recommendation: In-service education program could be designed and implemented in the pediatric field to enable the nurses to apply reflexology strategy to improve empower early transitioning of the preterm from tube feeds to breastfeeding and early discharge. Reflexology strategy is non-pharmacological, simple, noninvasive and cheap technique would be welcomed by the nurses, physicians and mothers.

Osteopathic Structural Findings in Women During Menstruation

Abstract Context: Menstruation, although a normal physiologic process, can result in cramping and discomfort in women. The symptomatology may manifest as musculoskeletal changes that can be identified and addressed to provide relief for suffering patients. Objective: To evaluate for common somatic dysfunctions and Chapman’s reflex points by performing full-body osteopathic structural exams (OSE) on women during menstruation compared to when they are not menstruating. Methods: Participants were menstruating, female faculty, staff and students recruited from Kansas City University. Data was gathered in the form of OSE findings from 2 intervals of menstruation and compared to data gathered from 2 intervals of non-menstruation. Each participant was evaluated at 4 visits: visit 1 during menstruation, visit 2 during non-menstruation, visit 3 during their subsequent cycle of menstruation, and visit 4 during their subsequent cycle of non-menstruation. At each visit, the participant was evaluated separately by the fellow and the physician. Results: Of the 32 potential participants, 23 completed the study. In this population, 23 participants (100%) had a lumbar somatic dysfunction during one menstrual cycle, with only 14 (60.9%) having a lumbar dysfunction during non-menstruation (P=0.004). Of the 5 posterior Chapman’s reflex points evaluated, 17 participants (73.9%) had at least 1 of the Chapman’s points with dysfunction during 1 menstruation cycle compared to only 10 participants (43.5%) during non-menstruation (P=0.039). Three participants (13%) were found to have a left-sided innominate dysfunction during 1 menstrual cycle compared to only 1 participant (4%) having a left-sided innominate dysfunction during non-menstruation (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study found 3 common areas of dysfunction in menstruating women that could be targeted by physicians for evaluation and treatment: the lumbar spine, the left innominate, and two posterior Chapman’s points. These findings aid in closing the gap from previously published data regarding the presence of somatic dysfunction in women during menstruation.

The Power of the Omega Points and Their Direct and Reciprocal Meanings: A Clinical Monocentric Prospective Study of 250 Cases.

Objective: Three Omega points on the human auricle were first described by Paul Nogier, MD, of France. Each Omega point theoretically represents a different embryologic tissue layer, with a correspondence to specific physical body attributes and certain emotional developments. Maurice Verdun, MD, and René J. Bourdiol, MD, developed the use of distinguishable anthropobiometric parameters and specific psychologic tests to classify a large clinical population into 4 categories that have both somatic and emotional features. The categories were: (1) normosome (normal); (2) leptosome (willowy); (3) pycnosome (rotund); and (4) athletosome (athletic). Dr. Bourdiol hypothesized that these biopsychomorphotypologic variations resulted from subtle overexpression of one of the three embryologic tissues during embryological development. Dr. Nogier and David Alimi, MD, both theorized that the three embryologic tissue layers are represented on the external ear by the 3 different Omega points: (1) Omega; (2) Omega 1; and (3) Omega 2. The expression of these points can be found by their electrodermal potentials. The aim of this survey was to find a unifying method to determine if all the clinical assessments observed from varied disciplines and different researchers could lead to a consistent theoretical perspective on the embryologic basis for auriculotherapy. Materials and Methods: The electrodermal potential of the 3 auricular Omega points were measured on 250 patients who requested auriculotherapy since the beginning of this survey, which began in February 2010. The patients were classified as normosome, pycnosome, leptosome, athletosome, athleto-leptosome, athleto-pycnosome, and dysmorphic. Electrodermal measurements of the Omega points on individual patients were compared to the phenotypical expression related to the theoretical expression of the embryologic tissues. Results: There was a prominent concordance between overexpression of an Omega point and the morphotype of an individual patient in 90% of the cases. In particular, there was a concordance between overexpression of an Omega point and the psychoemotional type in 92.4% of the cases. Conclusions: The clinical assessments of Drs. Verdun, Bourdiol, Nogier, and Alimi were supported by the electrophysiologic measurements of auricular reflex points. The original hypothesis of Dr. Bourdiol regarding anthropobiometric qualities was in concordance with the data obtained in this research. The Omega points have not only fundamental correspondences related to anatomical and physiologic embryogenesis but also are connected to a more-abstract significance related to a person's higher-order cognitive and emotional development.

Auriculoterapia no tratamento da obesidade na atenção básica

This study aimed to expand the care of people with obesity who participated in the collective care of the Matrix Team of Extended Family Health in Primary Care (NASF-AB), with the insertion of Integrative and Complementary Practices in SUS (PICs), using the practice of auriculotherapy as a therapeutic possibility in the Family Health Strategy (FHS), this practice was applied to thirty users of the service of a basic health unit diagnosed with obesity, who participated in five consecutive meetings, with quantitative and qualitative approach, using reflex points for weight reduction and anxiety, and as a result was a reduction in the degree of obesity and appetite intensity in the participants.

Needleless acupuncture using low-level laser therapy

Introduction: Acupressure works to stimulate (tonify or sedate) specific reflex points located along the lines of energy. In needleless or laser acupuncture, low-intensity lasers are used to stimulate the trigger points, thereby curing many medical conditions. The use of this is called low-level laser therapy (LLLT). The aim of this article is to give a brief overview on needleless acupuncture using LLLT. Methodology: A literature search using keywords such as “laser acupuncture,” “needleless acupuncture,” and “low-level laser therapy” was made on Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Direct, and Scopus. Results: Needleless acupuncture or laser acupuncture is one of the most popular methods for treating pain in the world. It has proved to be an effective option for various existing treatments and as a supplement to many current treatments as well. Conclusion: Acupressure with lasers is a proven, natural, and cost-effective professional and self-care system of treatment that can improve the quality life of patients.

Reflexology: A Modality in Manipulative and body based Method

Reflexology is an ancient therapeutic treatment which activates the innate healing powers of the body by applying some pressure to the specific reflex points which are located on all part of the feet, hands, or ears. The popularity of reflexology therapy has increased in recent years as the public seek more holistic ways to maintain good health and well-being. This paper reviews and summarizes the existing literature on reflexology focusing on principle, concept, current issues and scientific evidence. Databases of Pub Med, Scopus, Science Direct, Google scholar as well as Pro Quest were the sources used for findings the articles. Collectively, these reviews suggest a number of areas where reflexology may well be beneficial. Recent evidence suggests that reflexology is a simple, less expensive and non-invasive method that effective to regulate the autonomic nervous system activities, coordinates physiological responses, alleviates anxiety, and induces body relaxation.

Correction: Evidence of Cognitive Dysfunction after Soccer Playing with Ball Heading Using a Novel Tablet-Based Approach.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057364.].

The Effect of Foot Reflexology on the Anxiety Levels of Women in Labor.

This research was conducted to analyze the effect of foot reflexology on the anxiety levels of women during labor. The study was conducted as a semiexperimental study. It was conducted with 154 nulliparous pregnant women who applied to a maternity unit of a state hospital in the north-western part of Turkey to give birth. Foot reflexology was applied once to the pregnant women in the experimental group when cervical dilation was 3-4 cm. The treatment was applied to the right foot and left foot reflex points for 15 min, for a total of 30 min. The data in the study were collected using the "Pregnant Women Introductory Information Form" and the "Spielberger State-trait Anxiety Inventory" (STAI TX-1). In evaluating the data, number, percentage, Chi-square, independent samples t-test, and repeated measure analysis of variance test were used. The mean scores of the STAI TX-1 were used to analyze the results. The mean STAI TX-1 scores were measured before reflexology, in the latent and active phases of labor and early in postpartum period (four times in total). The mean STAI TX-1 scores were higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p < 0.001). The mean STAI TX-1 scores postreflexology application (when cervical dilation was 3-4 cm) and during the active phase of the labor (when cervical dilation was 6-8 cm) of the pregnant women in the experimental group were lower than those of the control group (respectively p = 0.010, p < 0.001). In the experimental group, there was no statistically significant difference between the mean STAI TX-1 scores pre- and postreflexology (p = 0.820). The mean STAI TX-1 scores in the early postpartum period were similar in the experimental and control groups (p = 0.080). Foot reflexology was found to have a positive effect in lowering the total anxiety scores of the pregnant women. Reflexology is a noninvasive and economical method, which may be used by health professionals to reduce problems during labor. A decrease in anxiety experienced at birth improves women's positive birth experiences, promotes a secure mother-infant attachment, and protects postpartum mental health.

The Benefits of Reflexology for the Chronic Pain Patient in a Military Pain Clinic.

Chronic pain is a major cause of disability across the military, especially for the combat Soldier. More than twothirds of Americans with chronic pain are now using complementary medicine. Patients with chronic pain opting for reflexology as part of their treatment plan received bilateral therapy. Alternating pressure was applied to the individual patient's reflex points corresponding to their pain sites. Following a single treatment session, patients were asked to complete a short survey. There is evidence that reflexology is therapeutic for many conditions, to include sleep and anxiety, both of which can be comorbidity in the patient with chronic pain. There is a lack of evidence on the use of reflexology with chronic pain patients receiving multidisciplinary pain care. A total of 311 participants completed the survey. Posttreatment pain scored decreased by a median of 2 points (interquartile range [IQR] 1-3) on a 10-point pain scale. This represents a median 43% (IQR 25%-60%) reduction in pain for males and a 41% (IQR 30%-60%) reduction in pain for females. Currently research is limited on effects of reflexology in treating chronic pain, yet, like acupuncture, this is an inexpensive, reliable, teachable, and simple noninvasive treatment. Further studies are warranted.

Evaluación de preexistencias en el proceso proyectual: Consideraciones, metodologías y experiencia docente

For more than one decade our country has been focusing more closely on the rehabilitation of cities. This implies looking into the past with a more reflexive point of view, seeking to place value on history and exercising greater caution when conducting actions related to our historic centers. This shift has been promoted at the public and private levels and includes several actions, among them the declarations of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), the Heritage Value Placement Program and other heritage-related initiatives. This article shares the authors’ teaching experience and findings revealing a teaching process that systematically assesses the state of conservation of buildings. Hence, the use of surveying, diagnostic and definition of intervention criteria is considered essential in the training of new generations that can value pre-existing elements. Finally, future application challenges are shared along with a revision of recent interventions and considering the difficulties in a scenario of restricted resources.

Doing reflexivity in psychological research: What’s the point? What’s the practice?

ABSTRACTReflexivity is a fundamental expectation of qualitative work in psychology (and the wider social sciences), but what it looks like and how we do it is frequently ambiguous and implicit. This makes doing reflexivity a challenging endeavor, particularly for those new to using qualitative methodologies. This article explores reflexivity as a form of critical thinking and evaluation by demarcating reflexive activity in relation to other forms of critical thinking used in psychology. Using notions of perspectival location, we shed some practical light on the objectives and processes of reflexivity, from its significance in the identification of a research topic, through designing, conducting, and writing the research report. The overarching question of “what is the point of reflexivity?” is answered through an interrogation of common assumptions around producing “good” research in psychology as well as through a series of key questions illuminating different steps in the research process. We conclude that reflexivity requires the unpacking of partial, positioned and affective perspectives we bring to the research. This process facilitates our questioning and moves us beyond our own taken-for-granted assumptions and sense-making of the social world.

GDAŃSK NA LIŚCIE ŚWIATOWEGO DZIEDZICTWA UNESCO – 20 LAT STARAŃ I NIEWYKORZYSTANYCH SZANS

The abstract of this article presents efforts undertaken during the last two decades, to put Gdańsk – one of the oldest cities of the Republic of Poland – on UNESCO World Heritage List and, based on archival materials and the author’s own experience, analyses the reasons for the ineffectiveness of those attempts. The criteria to achieve this goal have been subject to a number of changes and modifications. The development of conservation concepts of the last decades, especially seeing the intangible heritage values, has created an opportunity for a broad appreciation of places, typically attributable to the reflexive points of modern history. It is the Solidarity Shipyard, perpetuated in the public consciousness, which still remains such a place. Whether it will prove worthy of the World Heritage List, should be decided by the persons responsible for its contemporary protection.

Kodak’s Colorama and the Construction of the Gaze in Public Space

Between the 1950s and 1989, Kodak continuously occupied a surface of approximately one hundred square metres in New York’s Grand Central Station with a display of panoramic photographs that were changed regularly. These giant “Coloramas” presented photographed scenes that were taken specifically for the project, with the hundreds of images displayed during this period all showing an idealised representation of the American family. These photographs would, however, have remained ordinary had their defining feature not been the placement of the photographer within the frame of the image. By connecting photography to the point of view by which it is constructed, these panoramas seem to prescribe to their public a certain relation to the images, and to initiate a reflexive process which seems to have now become general. The huge area covered by the Coloramas has today given way to the more discreet surface of our smartphones, laptops and other digital tablets, which govern our various visual practices and reorganise the notions of image, point of view and reflexivity in new ways. Between the Coloramas of the 1960s and today’s touch screens, the question arises as to whether the multiplication and spread of visual surface has changed something in the way that image – and thus the gaze – is built in public space.

Self-Knowledge Creation Through Collective Poetic Inquiry: Cultivating Productive Resistance as University Academics

We explore how using the literary arts-based methodology of collective poetic inquiry deepened our own self-knowledge as South African academics who choose to resist a neoliberal corporate model of higher education. Increasingly, poetry is recognized as a means of representing the distinctiveness, complexity and plurality of the voices of research participants and researchers. Also, poetry is understood as a mode of research analysis that can intensify creativity and reflexivity. Using found poetry in the pantoum and tanka formats, we provide an example of a poetic inquiry process in which we started off by exploring other university academics’ lived experiences of working with graduate students and came to a turning point of reflexivity and self-realization. The escape highlights our evolving understanding that collaborative creativity and experimentation in research can be acts of self-knowledge creation for nurturing productive resistance as university academics.

Evaluation of Reflexology by "BIOCERAMIC Resonance" Operation producing Weak Force Field during Simultaneous Acupoint Stimulation of Urinary Bladder Point on Subject's Ear Resulting in Electric Current Change on Urinary Bladder reflex Point on Subject's Hands, and Related New Research Finding.

It was postulated in our previous publications that the meridian channels as conceived in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are various standing waves arising from harmonic rhythmic sound frequencies originating from the human heart beat. BIOCERAMIC is an artificial material able to produce a weak force field causing different biophysical and systemic health benefits, with the key characteristics of hydrogen bonds weakening and microcirculation enhancement. Since discovering that the effects of a BIOCERAMIC field can be transmitted via sound waves propagation, we then also developed a BIOCERAMIC Resonance device to produce weak force field throughout the body, and achieve resonance with the body's meridian channels to reinforce microcirculation. Since our previous research proved BIOCERAMIC can produces changes in ectodermal current levels, the present evaluation on reflexology is done by the application of Electric Current Detection (ECD) to the palmar surface of the hands matching correlative organs and glands loci to reflex points according to standard reflexology. The procedure will compare changes in the electrical current observed before and after a session of BIOCERAMIC Resonance treatment on the soles of the subjects' feet. We also conducted a procedure using corona discharge (Kirlian) photography of the hands to examine whether the coronal intensities could be affected by application of the BIOCERAMIC patch. Intensities are shown on the screen of a computer using special software that categorizes intensities into five zones. Under the continuous treatment of BIOCERAMIC Resonance on soles of the feet and simultaneous stimulation on the specific point on the surface of the ear representing the urinary bladder. The electrical current (Aji ampere) on the areas in the hands are decreased from the beginning of the experiment, but only the specific area on the surface of the ear representing the urinary bladder was exhibited increased of the electrical current (Aji ampere), with statistically significant difference (p<0.05). To the other study we evaluated the validity of reflexology and corona discharge (Kirlian) photography by applying BIOCERAMIC Resonance and small adhesive patches made from the BIOCERAMIC material. Significant differences were evident on four out of five different zones of the computerized images. Our findings suggest the existence of presupposed virtual channels or reflex points on the skin surface of the feet, hands, and ears that connect or somehow reflect back to specific internal organs, as mapped out on standard charts found in reflexology. Furthermore, the depicted corona intensities from five zones shown on a computer screen of corona discharge photography seem to indicate that the volunteer subjects are affected by the BIOCERAMIC patches. This study demonstrates the operation of the BIOCERAMIC Resonance device is able to produce weak force field through the body, which is objectively measurable and thereby scientifically integrating the concepts of reflexology, meridian channels and biofield therapy.

Effects of Reflexology on Pain in Patients With Fibromyalgia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of reflexology on pain intensity in patients with fibromyalgia, using an experimental repeated-measures design, and a convenience sample of 30 fibromyalgia inpatients. Thirty patients aged 18 to 70 years with fibromyalgia and hospitalized in the algology clinic were taken as a convenience sample. Patients received a total of 12 60-minute sessions of reflexology over a period of 6 consecutive weeks. Reflexology was carried out bilaterally on the hands and feet of patients at the reflex points relating to their pain at a suitable intensity and angle. Subjects had pain scores taken immediately before the intervention (0 minute), and at the 60th minute of the intervention. Data were collected over a 10-month period in 2012. The patients' mean pain intensity scores were reduced by reflexology, and this decrease improved progressively in the first and sixth weeks of the intervention, indicating a cumulative dose effect. The results of this study implied that the inclusion of reflexology in the routine care of patients with fibromyalgia could provide nurses with an effective practice for reducing pain intensity in these patients.

Inter-Rater Reliability of Neck Reflex Points in Women with Chronic Neck Pain

Background: Neck reflex points (NRP) are tender soft tissue areas of the cervical region that display reflectory changes in response to chronic inflammations of correlated regions in the visceral cranium. Six bilateral areas, NRP C0, C1, C2, C3, C4 and C7, are detectable by palpating the lateral neck. We investigated the inter-rater reliability of NRP to assess their potential clinical relevance. Methods: 32 consecutive patients with chronic neck pain were examined for NRP tenderness by an experienced physician and an inexperienced medical student in a blinded design. A detailed description of the palpation technique is included in this section. Absence of pain was defined as pain index (PI) = 0, slight tenderness = 1, and marked pain = 2. Findings were evaluated either by pair-wise Cohen's kappa (ĸ) or by percentage of agreement (PA). Results: Examiners identified 40% and 41% of positive NRP, respectively (PI > 0, physician: 155, student: 157) with a slight preference for the left side (1.2:1). The number of patients identified with >6 positive NRP by the examiners was similar (13 vs. 12 patients). ĸ values ranged from 0.52 to 0.95. The overall kappa was ĸ = 0.80 for the left and ĸ = 0.74 for the right side. PA varied from 78.1% to 96.9% with strongest agreement at NRP C0, NRP C2, and NRP C7. Inter-rater agreement was independent of patients' age, gender, body mass index and examiner's experience. Conclusion: The high reproducibility suggests the clinical relevance of NRP in women.