History of Reflexology

The earliest evidence of hand and foot massage was discovered in the tomb of Ankhmahor in Egypt, the tomb dates back to approximately 2330BC. The ancient Chinese also worked on hands and feet. They incorporated acupuncture, acupressure and other therapies.

In the 1890’s Sir Henry Head (1861-1940) an English neurologist discovered certain areas of the skin reflected the state of specific organs. These areas were known as zones. Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952) completed work in neurophysiology paving the way for our understanding of the nervous system and reflexes. Reflexology was introduced in the United States by Dr William Fitzgerald (1872-1942) and Dr Edwin Bowers in 1913 who were the founders of zone therapy as its known today. It was modified in the 1930’s and 1940’s by Eunice Ingham (1889-1974). She took Dr William Fitzgerald’s theory of zone therapy and used it to map the body into reflexes on the feet to develop modern reflexology. In 1966 Doreen Bayley trained with Eunice Ingham and then introduced reflexology to the United Kingdom.