Kenkoh massage sandals and your health

Initially made of wood, Kenkoh massage sandals were conceived back in the 60's by Kyu-kichi Yamanashi because he was afflicted with a variety of ailments. The most notable feature of the footwear was the small bumps on the top of the sole, designed to stimulate what would currently be called reflexology points. Back then the term reflexology had not yet been coined, and the ideas were called Sokushindo.

The shoes were beneficial to Yamanashi's health, so he made more and started to sell them. As you can imagine, the wooden nodules were not the most comfortable things to stand on, so a rubber material was soon substituted for the wood, and the current Kenkoh sandals feature natural latex nodules.

What is Foot Reflexology? Foot reflexology practicioners postulate that points on our feet, called reflex zones, correlate with organs, glands, tissues and other parts of our bodies. The idea behind Kenkoh footwear is that the nodules stimulate these reflex zones, therefore influencing the correlated areas of the body in a good way. The thinking is that our bodies were originally able to get the necessary stimulation to these areas by walking barefoot over the ground, but with our adoption of shoes and the paving over of the natural earth surface, this stimulation is no longer available to us.

Being that regular allopathic doctors usually tend to look skeptically upon any possible benefits of reflexology, you might question whether or not Kenkoh massage sandals could have any actual effect. But keep in mind that treatments like acupuncture and chiropractic care were once derided by conventional medical authorities, and much research has since proven that these modalities have great healing value. Do we have any of that research concerning the benefits of Kenkohs? Yes, there are a few.

There were some very good results shown in a study perforned in 2006 at Kyoto University in Japan, headed up by N. Kondo. The study participants reported decreased fatigue, less edema (swelling) in the legs and feet, a markedly lower pulse rate, reduction of foot pain, and just an overall more positive happier mood.

Additionally, there are many anecdotal reports of relief from a number of other symptoms such as numbness in the feet, migraines and tension headaches, back pain, varicose veins, muscle soreness, bone spurs, arthritis, hammer toes, calluses on the feet, and a number of other physical problems.

Usually, Kenkohs are only worn for shorter periods of time, although some owners do enjoy wearing throughout the day. The more normal wearing pattern is to keep them on for an hour or two while at home. The current construction of the shoe is pretty comfortable to most people, but it's still recommended that everyone begin with around ten or fifteen minutes of wear, and then gradually add wearing time. People with very tender feet may have to initially wear socks with the sandals, but eventually they should be able to get rid of the socks, after slowly building up the sandal-wearing period.

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