Structural reflex zone therapy in pregnancy and childbirth: a new approach.

This paper is adapted from Denise Tiran's forthcoming new book on pregnancy reflexology, and introduces an innovative new approach which has been termed "structural reflex zone therapy". From a reflexology perspective structural reflex zone therapy (RZT) draws on the Hanne Marquardt system, but is based also on the principles of osteopathy, in which the musculoskeletal system is seen as the main supporting framework of the body and the feet are used purely as a medium through which misalignments can be treated. Structural reflex zone therapy is based on the author's clinical work and research over a 25-year period, and although specifically applied here to maternity care, could easily be adapted for other clinical specialities. In this paper, the way in which structural RZT can be helpful for two particular pregnancy conditions - stress and backache - is considered.