Physicians in Germany began to look at physiological reflex action. They began to look at treating Disease through massage and developed techniques known as reflex massage.
Dr William Fitzgerald deserves the credit for establishing the basis of modern Reflexology. He discovered the zones and developed a treatment called Zone Therapy. Fitzgerald noticed while treating patients for the same disorder with a minor operation that some would feel great pain and others very little. He investigated this and discovered that some patients were producing anaesthetic effects upon themselves by applying pressure to areas of the body. He tested these theories on his patients. He found that if pressure was applied on the fingers it would create an anaesthetic effect on the hand, arm & shoulder, right up to the jaw, ear & nose! He carried out minor surgery using this knowledge. Using this he worked out the zones in the body, which we use today.
Fitzgerald and his colleague Edwin Bowers tried to convince colleagues of the validity of the therapy. They used to apply pressure to the person's hand then stick a needle into the part of the face, which they knew to be anaesthetised!
In 1915 Bowers wrote his first article to publicly declare the effects of Zone Therapy entitled 'Stop the Toothache, Squeeze your toe'.
In 1917 the book 'Zone Therapy' was published. It was not well received throughout the medical profession (some things don't really change!) However, one physician called Joseph Riley was impressed with the findings. It was his research assistant Eunice Ingham who made the greatest contribution to modern Reflexology.
