With
A Human Touch
Compiled by Hari S. Bird, LDO
Ophthalmic Dispenser since 1958
The
Power and Magic
of The Human Touch
For
centuries, mothers have instinctively known it works -- pick up young
children and they'll stop crying ... gently rub babies' backs and it's
off to dreamland they go. Now scientists are also coming to recognize
the power of touch -- and not just touch therapies such as reflexology,
but simple acts such as giving a backrub, holding hands, sharing
a hug or putting your
arm around someone. With research demonstrating the healing power of
touch, more hospitals are incorporating massage
programs into care protocols for cancer and cardiovascular patients,
among others.
Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the
University of Miami School of Medicine, has studied the benefits of
touch for many years. Her book, Touch, reviews medical and sociological
research on the importance of touch to good health and also argues that
the Western world, including the medical profession, has marginalized
and minimized its importance. When I called her to discuss her work,
Dr. Field told me that many forms of touch can help reduce pain, anxiety,
depression and aggressive behavior ... promote immune function and healing
... lower heart rate and blood pressure ... and improve air flow in
asthmatics. All this, and no drug side effects!
THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF TOUCH
Previous research has suggested that touch deprivation leads to aggression
and violent behavior in animals, so it was no surprise when Dr. Field
shared her concerns that living in our largely touch-deprived Western
society can have negative consequences. It was these concerns that led
researchers at the Touch Research Institute to examine how touch is
treated differently in two cities with very different cultures -- Miami
and Paris.
In one study, published in Early Child Development and Care in 1999,
Dr. Field and her colleagues measured how much affectionate touch preschoolers
received from their parents on playgrounds and also the children's level
of aggressive behavior. In Paris, they found there was more touch toward
peers and parents by children and less aggression. In a separate study,
researchers also observed that French adolescents -- raised with more
affectionate touch -- were more affectionate and less physically and
verbally aggressive with one another than American adolescents. This
association does not imply or prove causation, but does make a case
for closer examination with further research.
REACH OUT AND TOUCH
Dr. Field explained that the benefits of touch seem to stem largely
from its ability to reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone manufactured
by the adrenal glands. This was measured in two dozen studies. She said
that touching with moderate-pressure (a firm handshake) stimulates activity
in the vagus nerve, one of the 12 cranial nerves in the brain, which
in turn slows the heart and decreases the production of stress hormones
including cortisol.
Other studies published from the Touch Research Institute, published
in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrate that touch contributes to ...
Decreased
pain. Children with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who
were given massages by their parents 15 minutes per day for one month
experienced less anxiety and lower cortisol levels. Over a 30-day period,
parents, kids and their physicians reported less pain overall in the
children.
Enhanced
immune function. In studies, women with breast cancer and HIV patients
showed a measurable increase in natural killer cells -- part of a line
of defense in the immune system against virus-infected cells and cancer
cells -- after massage. They
also experienced less anxiety and depression.
Happier,
healthier babies. Preemies who were touched more while in the NICU gained
more weight.
Less
labor pain. Women in labor who received a backrub the first 15 minutes
of every hour of labor reported less pain and made fewer requests for
pain medications. Their labor was also shorter, on average.
Enhanced
alertness and performance. Following massage,
adults completed math problems in significantly less time and with fewer
errors.
TOUCH IS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL
Touching is good for the giver as well as the recipient, says Dr. Field.
She cites a study in which 20 children with leukemia were given daily
massages by their parents. After one month, the parents' depressed moods
decreased, and the children's white blood cell and neutrophil counts
increased. In another study of elderly volunteers who were trained to
give massages to infants, Dr. Field found that after three weeks the
seniors experienced improved mood with less anxiety or depression, decreased
levels of stress hormones and more social contacts and fewer doctor
visits.
GET IN TOUCH
Touch comes more naturally to some people than others. You can make
a conscious effort to bring more touch into your daily life -- and more
happiness to yourself and those around you. Give your kids hugs when
they leave for school in the morning and when they come home. Hold your
partner's hand when you take a walk, exchange back rubs and don't forget
good-night kisses. Pet your dog or cat. Schedule a few sessions with
a professional massage therapist
and pay attention to what feels especially good -- then try it at home
on one another. Relax and enjoy.
Source: Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute
at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida. --
The Transfer of Energy
Healing Touch is a non-invasive therapy classified by the National Institutes of Health as a “biofield” therapy because its effects are thought to be due to manipulation of energy fields around the body.
This therapy is considered a Holistic Therapy and it is frequently used as an adjunct to medical treatment. Treatments include light touch on specific points on the body as well as around the body, with the goal of restoring energy and vitality to the body, increasing well-being and supporting the body’s ability to heal.
According
to the theory underlying this modality, the Healing Touch practitioner
uses a conscious, intentional process of directing energy through
their hands to the patient either by contacting the patient’s
energy field and-or touching the body. Healing Touch utilizes additional
specific techniques for direction and modulation of energy. Interventions
such as Healing Touch have been shown to elicit a profound relaxation
response, enhance wound healing, reduce post surgical pain and use
of pain medication, reduce tension headache pain and anxiety, and
to enhance mood and well-being in individuals with serious illness.
Although Healing Touch is frequently used by cancer patients along
with their medical treatments, very little is understood about the
effects of this treatment on the immune system. Research is not yet
able to fully explain why these methods heal the body.
The concept of electromagnetic fields affecting the biological systems is not new and attempts to measure electromagnetic patterns related to illness date back to the 1940’s. There is some documentation that the physiological processes of a living system such as plant growth, enzyme activation, or hemoglobin production can be positively influenced by “exchange of energy”. However, with few exceptions, technologies to measure the hypothesis of energy transfer have been largely absent. --
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