Well Deusdrum, if you would have read down in the wikipedia article a bit, your question would have been answered. Apparently reflexology has a good long history, spanning both time and place.
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Various versions of reflexology have been practised. This has been documented on four continents: Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. The most common theory is that the earliest form of reflexology originated in China, as much as 5000 years ago. The early Taoists are described as having originated many Chinese health practises.
The Cherokee tribes of North America practise a form of reflexology that they pass from generation to generation.[
citation needed]
Reflexology travelled across India, Japan, and China. Traditional East Asian foot reflexology is called Zoku Shin Do in
Japanese. This is the foot portion of the Japanese massage technique. The roots of Zoku Shin Do go back to China over 5000 years ago.[
citation needed]
Many changes took place in zone therapy, or reflexology, over the years.
In China, the practice of acupressure using the fingers turned into the practice of acupuncture using needles. The belief in the reflex points still existed, but the practise was taken in a new direction with a new theory of claimed meridians. The Chinese concept of meridian therapy is a fundamental part of the claims of reflexology.[11]
The precise relationship between the ancient version practiced by the early Egyptians and reflexology as we know it today is unclear because different practices involving the manipulation of the feet in an attempt to affect health have been used throughout the world.
The precursor of current reflexology was introduced to the United States in 1913 by
William H. Fitzgerald, M.D. (1872–1942), an
ear, nose, and throat specialist, and Dr. Edwin Bowers. Fitzgerald claimed that applying pressure had an
anesthetic effect on other areas of the body.
[12]
Reflexology was further modified in the 1930s and 1940s by Eunice D. Ingham (1889–1974), a nurse and
physiotherapist.
[13][14] Ingham claimed that the feet and hands were especially sensitive, and mapped the entire body into "reflexes" on the feet. It was at this time that "zone therapy" was renamed reflexology.
Reflexologists in the United States and the United Kingdom often study Ingham's theories first, although there are also more recently created methods.
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