Reflexology and acupuncture treatments can offer profound relaxation and pain relief. They can also be expensive and intimidating --- just finding a reliable practitioner is a job in itself. In the first decade of the 21st century, manufacturers introduced massage devices that claim to offer acupuncture and reflexology treatments via infrared heat and magnetic pulse technology. Although soothing, these devices might not offer the genuine reflexology or acupuncture effects that they claim.
Traditional Techniques
Reflexology and acupuncture work on stimulating key areas of the body in order to increase circulation and relieve internal blockages that prevent healing. By stimulating certain areas of the hands and feet, a reflexologist causes a healing response in the corresponding body area, organ or gland, according to the website of the Ontario College of Reflexology. An acupuncturist inserts tiny needles in key points on the body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, these points lie on subtle energy channels. By working on the points, an acupuncturist encourages the smooth flow of qi, or vital life energy, throughout the body, notes the website of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Infrared Technologies
Infrared technologies promise to heal by manipulating the body's electromagnetic field, according to Kara Lee Schoonover, return-to-work program administrator in North Bend, Washington, and author of "Pain Free with Far Infrared Mineral Therapy." The body's electromagnetic field structures your physical body and keeps you in a state of optimal health. Illness develops when a disruption to the electromagnetic field occurs. Infrared devices generate deep-penetrating electromagnetic waves that help regulate your personal energy field, according to Schoonover.
Magnetic Pulsing
Massage devices claiming to simulate a reflexology or acupuncture treatment can also include magnetic pulse components. In the world of conventional medicine, magnetic pulse therapy devices direct a targeted, oscillating magnetic field at the part of a patient that needs treatment. Clinical applications of magnetic pulsing include treatments for depression in patients who are resistant to antidepressant medication, according to Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina, in a 2010 article published on the website of the National Institute of Mental Health. Massage devices contain modest versions of hospital magnetic pulse devices.
Devices
Devices on the market as of 2010 offer infrared radiation, magnetic pulsation, or both. Some, like the infrared sauna, seek to use infrared technology to heat the body tissues more directly than traditional steam-based saunas. Others, like hand-held devices, foot massagers and massage tables, specifically claim to offer an acupuncture, acupressure or reflexology effect. You can purchase the smaller devices for personal use at home. Some wellness clinics purchase larger devices, like the infrared massage table, for use on their clients.
Considerations
Among the benefits of traditional reflexology and massage is that your practitioner will work with you and your symptoms to design a targeted, specific treatment that is unique each time. The success of an acupuncture treatment depends on the personal qi of the practitioner, notes Bob Flaws, fellow and former governor of the National Academy of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and author of "Sticking to the Point: A Study of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Formulas." While infrared devices might be able to penetrate the body tissues like an acupuncture treatment can, it won't respond to your internal blockages and areas of stagnation with as much precision or care.
Member Comments