The following is from The Modern Institute of Reflexology.
Dr. Wittman, founder of the Modern Institute of Reflexology, experienced ReflexoCure (reflexology) from the moment of birth by the hands of his Mother Beth Wittman. He had a wonderful example in the "woman with the steel fingers" as she was described by her patients. In 1952 he earned certification with Eunice Ingham Stopfel and continued his fledgling practice while attending the National College of Naprapathy in Illinois. Following graduation he opened a clinical practice in Oak Park, Illinois where he blended foot reflexology with naprapathy in order to effectively treat the infirm who sought him out.
Wittman started using the Percuss-O-Motor early in his career through the example of his parents who both used this machine that was recommended by adherents of Dr. Fitzgerald. Like Zachary Brinkerhoff, he saw a need to supplement finger pressure and thumb walking in order to save the thumb joints. The solenoid powered percussion machine filled that bill. "Between Dad, Mom and myself we had 80+ years of experience utilizing the old Percuss-O-Motor Machine. When the original POM machines we had wore out, I had to design a new model (using solid state circuitry instead of radio tubes) since the McShirley company had gone out of business," related Clem.
The new and improved Percuss-O-Flex gave a smooth drummer-like action just like the old POM. It was finally perfected and presented to the public through the American Institute of Reflexology. Wittman changed the name to Modern Institute of Reflexology when he registered the school with the US Government in 1981. He had been conducting one-day seminars across the USA in order to train those who aspired to become professionals (such as Kim Kling) by utilizing his new POF drummer type percussive machine. Dr. Wittman's intensive 1-Day (12 hour) seminar was designed to enable the aspiring professional to:
1. Understand what foot reflexology is, how it works, and how it compares and contrasts with other therapeutic methods;
2. Review basic physiology and anatomy, learning the foot reflex points for 41 main body parts;.
3. Recognize the most common pathologies that respond to treatment by reflexology;
4. Establish a professional and credible relationship with clients;
5. Assess clients' problems and needs, select appropriate course of treatment, and make referrals as appropriate/necessary.
6. Establish and maintain a successful reflexology practice through proper use of advertising, knowledge of legal issues related to reflexology, and efficient office set up and management.
7. Practice the technique of massaging the reflex points both manually and by machine.
"I have been using reflexology, a kindred natural healing art to acupuncture, a good deal longer than most Americans experimenting with this oriental therapy which burst upon the scene after President Nixon's trip to China in 1972. I have given successful treatments for low back pain, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, and a whole cross section of spinal problems. Often these cases were the desperate variety when everything else had failed. In many cases, prescriptions for narcotics, painkillers, and other drugs were eliminated entirely," claimed Wittman in his New Reflexology Hand Book.Wittman's teaching emphasized that the advantage of reflexology over chiropractic, osteopathy, shiatsu and acupressure (among others) was its ease of administration ... if done by machine. He further demonstrated how the numbing action upon a sensitive reflex by the Percuss-O-Flex machine greatly decreased the high level of pain many times produced by thumb and finger pressure. And in a busy clinic operation he showed how important the percussion machine was in both reducing treatment time and saving the thumbs from the stress of overwork.
In 1989, after a year of suffering abdominal discomfort, he went in for a medical check up. Emergency surgery revealed that he was full of inoperable colon cancer. However, before his untimely death, Dr. Wittman determined that his clinic, school and Percuss-O-Flex should not die with him. He sold his clinic to a chiropractor, but the Modern Institute of Reflexology (along with his beloved Percussion machine) was passed to his primary colleague whose work paralleled his own in research and development of reflex stimulus devices...Zachary Brinkerhoff.
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I am the chiropractor who bought Dr. Wittman's clinic. I have converted Dr. Wittman's book into PDF format and will offer this version for sale.
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