Reflexologist in Elburn provides palliative care

ELBURN – Jennifer Sand's introduction to reflexology was quite by accident, when during a flight from Newark, N.J., to Hong Kong, she developed a "raging sinus infection."

She was on her way for a month-long visit with her brother, who was living in China at the time. As soon as she landed, she told him she needed a Z-Pack, also known as azithromycin, which is a strong antibiotic.

Her brother had a different suggestion. In China, the two types of health care providers one is most likely to find are reflexologists and herbalists. Her brother arranged a session for her with a local reflexologist, and before she knew it, her sinuses were draining.

“I fell in love with reflexology at that moment,” she said. “I never needed the antibiotic.”

Converted, she searched out a reflexologist when she returned to the United States.

More than a decade later, when her mom took a 6-foot fall onto her driveway, breaking four of her ribs, Sand became her caregiver. She said she did some research and found some ways to work with the connections between her mom’s reflex points and her broken bones, as well as with the bruised tissue around her lungs. Her mom was able to stop taking the pain killers that her doctor had prescribed.

“She told me, ‘You really have a gift,’” she said.

When Sand’s twins turned six and headed off to full-time kindergarten, Sand went off to school to learn reflexology.

“I felt it was meant for me,” she said. “It’s my path.”

Not long after Sand became a certified reflexologist, her sister received a diagnosis of cancer. In order to be of help to her, Sand went back to school to learn about cancer care. Reflexology is not meant as an attempt to cure disease; it’s meant to be supportive or palliative care, she explained.

Sand said she was able to be a part of her sister’s end-of-life care by helping provide peace and relief from pain before she passed away.

Sand said that the Chinese people have a belief that everything enters the body through the head and leaves through the feet. In reflexology, every one of 1,000 reflex points on one’s feet is connected to a bone, a gland or an organ in another part of the body. Through manipulating these pressure points, a reflexologist reportedly is able to find an inconsistency in an individual’s foot, sort of like a grain of sand under the skin.

Similar to a massage therapist who finds a knot in one’s muscle and works with it until it disappears, a reflexologist is allegedly able to work with the inconsistency until it becomes smooth, affecting the body part to which it is connected.

“Clearing that reflex point sends a new message to your brain, giving your body a chance to heal itself,” she said.

She claimed that she has been able to help people with a variety of health issues, including various symptoms associated with autoimmune diseases; neuropathy related to diabetes or caused by chemotherapy; acute illnesses and injuries, as well as emotional issues, such as depression, anxiety, grief and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I see a lot of cast-offs from traditional medicine,” she said.

She also sees a lot of people for pain management, including two clients who have had spinal fusions.

She doesn’t consider herself to be a healer; she said she can’t cure someone.

“All I know is that it works, and I see the relief that I bring,” she said.

St. Charles resident Laurie Lyons has plantar fasciitis, which causes heel pain. She said she had gotten to the point where just walking her son to the bus stop in the morning had her hobbling back home in pain.

Lyons said she knows other people who struggle with plantar fasciitis and at least one person who has had to have surgery. She said that reflexology with Sand has been “life-changing.”

“It’s changed the quality of my life,” she said.

Sand's practice is located at 105 E. North St., in the Shear Image Salon and Spa. Those interested in reflexology can email her at terracottajen@comcast.net or call 331-203-5351.