pitted edema, kidney reflex and my dad

[makingachange]

saturday my parents told me that my dad's feet have been "swelling and that when you touch them the dent stays". he has prostate issues but no other health conditions that i know of.

so saturday night i saw how swollen his ankles were, propped him up, off with his shoes and man - it was pretty bad. not discolored-bad, but bad nonetheless.

we got his feet way up and i worked very gently to increase the circulation, and i was drawn right away to the kidney reflex on his R foot. he almost jumped out of the chair. i kept working, but carefully. then i placed some cool towels on his feet and ankles while he rested. when i went back, the reflex wasn't nearly as tender and he let me work on it some more.

he said sunday morning that his feet look normal! my mom said his ankle bones actually show and even last night at 7ish they looked good too.

i hope that we can keep up the reflexology sessions. he is also consulting with his dr today to see what in the world is going on. but, yay for massage and reflexology!

amanda

[Dragonflies]

Very cool for your dad! I had a client a couple of weeks ago tell me that after her reflex session she had the best improvement for her edema than anything else she'd tried.

Can he keep elevating his feet every day? That might help too. Or maybe a foot roller? Get in some good homework between sessions.

[makingachange]

homework, no kidding... i found a quan yin magnet that i taped to the bottom of his foot at the reflex all night! i'm sure that had something to do with it as well. he is working on elevating every night, but he can't during the day.

we'll see how it keeps going!

[Dragonflies]

homework, no kidding... i found a quan yin magnet that i taped to the bottom of his foot at the reflex all night

That's a neat idea. Just brainstorming here but what about magnets on the kidney meridians? Or those KHT pellets if the magnets are too strong? Can he work on his kidney reflexes in the hands or ears during the day?

From a spiritual/emotional perspective - is there something irritating or agitating him? Is he holding onto someone else's emotions? I'd love to read his feet and get a bigger picture of what's going on here.

[makingachange]

homework, no kidding... i found a quan yin magnet that i taped to the bottom of his foot at the reflex all night

That's a neat idea. Just brainstorming here but what about magnets on the kidney meridians? Or those KHT pellets if the magnets are too strong? Can he work on his kidney reflexes in the hands or ears during the day?

From a spiritual/emotional perspective - is there something irritating or agitating him? Is he holding onto someone else's emotions? I'd love to read his feet and get a bigger picture of what's going on here.

the magnet was great, and since our family has a particular connection with her i think it worked even better. i'd not thought of the kidney meridians, and certainly my mother could help him with that.

yes, he could work his reflexes during the day, if he would. i do think that he's seen such a positive change that he might be willing to do that, if he can remember to!

re: emotional... the only thing i can think of is that he's on month 3 of quitting smoking for years. he's using the losenges though, so there's still the nic in there.

[/i]

[UCR]

Hi Amanda, swollen ankles are very common; primarily an environmental issue – created by our toxic society and toxic lifestyle choices. Poisonous chemicals and invading pathogens overload our lymphatic system completely stressing it to the point it can barely cope and perform its vital jobs.

A typical symptom is swelling or oedema in the lower extremities.

Here are a few added suggestions to help with your Dad.

1. Bounce gently up and down on a rebounder. This is the best exercise to stimulate muscles controlling the lymph glands - opening and closing them with every bounce. It’s a gentle enough exercise to create a flow of fluid back up the body and eliminates waste into the circulatory system.
2. In addition to your reflexology, add very gentle constant pushes of the skin towards the leg on the dorsal surface of the foot - alternating thumbs. This will greatly enhance the flow of fluid back up the body.
3. Continue to keep the feet and legs elevated equal to or higher than the chest, allowing a natural slow flow back up the body. Since your Dad is busy, make sure this is done as much as possible in the evenings, even a pillow under the feet while sleeping.

Finally, it all boils down to the client (Dad) being pro-active in changing one’s lifestyle.

All the best and please let us know how things go.

Jack Marriott, CMR CRI CBS CSM
www.universalreflex.com
www.ReflexologyEstore.com