by Karen Ball
You never know where your actions may take you. One small step may lead to BIG outcomes. That proved true for Ken Cook, who, when a student at the Florida School of Massage in 2012, knew he just had to enroll in the Therapeutic Hand and Foot Reflexology Professional Certification; and for John Guinta, a Jacksonville, Florida therapist, who submitted an article entitled “Stress Relief Is In Your Hands” to a local magazine in August 2013. John’s ingenuity and Ken’s passion were brought together to result in one of the more profound and surprising research studies done to date utilizing hand reflexology.
John’s short article, meant to interest the public in receiving hand reflexology, caught the attention of a staff member of the only facility in Florida running a fulltime day program offering a range of innovative activities designed to help individuals who have experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) reclaim their lives.
A phone call from the manager of the Brooks Rehabilitation Clubhouse in Jacksonville resulted in a 12-week formal study that assessed the therapeutic value of hand reflexology in improving functional fine motor skills in six people who are living with the challenging repercussions of a TBI.
Following a careful selection process, the study proceeded with pre- and post-study evaluations performed by Christy Ruggiero, certified reflexologist and licensed occupational therapist, and weekly 45-minute hand reflexology sessions performed by Ken and John, by this time both Academy of Ancient Reflexology certified hand and foot reflexologists and Florida-licensed massage therapists.
We hope you will take a moment to read this outstanding study and congratulate John, Christy and our own Ken Cook for their pioneering study, the first ever to approach the challenges of people living with TBI with hand reflexology. To date, their study has been published in two national US publications and one international. We are proud and excited for the results, and hope that the future holds the possibility of teaching victims of TBI how to provide the healing benefits of hand reflexology to themselves.
Click here to read the study.
