Therapeutic
touch
Therapeutic touch is a healing
technique in which a practitioner's hands are passed in wavelike motions inches
above a person's body. (Despite the name, the practitioner typically does not
make contact with the body, although some practitioners do include physical
touch.) It is believed that by doing therapeutic touch, the practitioner can
break up a person's energy blockages and thus improve health and well-being.
The idea of a human energy field, or
life force, isn't new. It is included in Ayurvedic medicine as prana, and the
Chinese known it as qi. Therapeutic touch is controversial in the West,
however, where the notion of an energy field is not generally accepted.
How Does It Work?
Those who have had success with
therapeutic touch believe that the treatments work through manipulation of the
energy that pulsates in and around all living beings--similar to what Western
physicists call a force field. It is thought that therapeutic touch improves
health by clearing blockages in that energy field and by helping a person build
up his own curative energy.
Another explanation is that
therapeutic touch relaxes the body, allowing it to function and heal itself
better than when it is tense. Studies have shown that wounds heal faster, pain
levels are lower, and immune function is stronger when stress levels are
decreased.
What You Can Expect
Therapeutic touch sessions generally
last 20 to 30 minutes. They can be conducted in a practitioner's office, or in a
hospital, nursing home, or other medical center as required. The patient can be
fully clothed, and may be standing, sitting, or lying down.
A session will usually begin with a
conversation between the patient and the practitioner about the patient's health
problems. The practitioner will then go into a meditative state to prepare for
the session.
To begin, the practitioner assesses
the patient's energy field, scanning for energy blocks by moving her hands in
slow, rhythmic motions over the body but not touching it. Once a blockage is
found, the practitioner moves her hands in a flowing manner from the top of the
blockage location down and away from the body, "unruffling" the energy field
where it is blocked. This action is repeated until the blockage is no longer
felt by the practitioner or the patient feels relief.
After this, the practitioner transfers
energy from herself to the patient to help facilitate healing. She will then
evaluate the energy field once again to check for remaining blockages, and end
the session by ensuring that the person is feeling well. The patient should
probably feel relaxed and calm after the treatment.
The number and frequency of treatments
depends on the patient and the illness. A muscle spasm may only require one
treatment, while a chronic condition such as migraine headaches may need
multiple sessions.
Health Benefits
Therapeutic touch advocates believe
that this therapy can reduce stress, promote relaxation, relieve pain, and
stimulate healing. It is usually used as adjunct therapy to conventional medical
treatment.
Studies have shown that the technique
helps reduce anxiety in patients awaiting or recovering from surgery. At
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, patients may request
therapeutic touch during or after an operation. A survey of 10 patients who were
initially "extremely skeptical" of the technique found it to be "remarkably
helpful."
A 1998 study, published in the
Journal of Family Practice, showed that therapeutic touch significantly
reduced pain and increased function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Another 1998 study in the Journal of Advanced Nursing showed that
therapeutic touch reduced pain and anxiety in burn victims.
More controversial is a study
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998,
which tested whether therapeutic touch practitioners could actually detect the
human energy field. In the study, which was conceived, designed, and carried out
by a 9-year-old student, researchers had 21 practitioners place their hands
through a screen so that the practitioners couldn't see them. A researcher then
held one of her hands over one of the practitioner's hands and asked the
practitioner to tell which hand she was near, by feeling for the energy field of
the hand. The practitioners chose the correct hand only 44% of the time, a
result similar to that expected from random chance. Critics of therapeutic touch
believe that this study shows the therapy's lack of validity. Some therapeutic
touch advocates even question the worth of the study, believing that it was
badly designed.
How To Choose a Practitioner
Therapeutic touch practitioners are
not licensed or certified. There are several organizations, however, that train
clinicians in this therapy. Dolores Krieger, the therapy's founder, reports that
she alone has taught the therapy to 43,000 health-care professionals and several
thousand lay people. (Because Krieger was a nurse, the majority of health-care
professionals who practice the technique today are nurses.)
Look for a practitioner who has
completed a workshop in therapeutic touch, or who has continuing education
credits in the therapy from a state nursing association. The practitioner should
have practiced the technique under a mentor for at least a year. Ask a trusted
bodyworker or your primary care physician for a referral to a therapeutic touch
practitioner.
Cautions
1.
There is a slight chance of nausea and dizziness occurring after a
therapeutic touch treatment.
2. Some believe that a person in a weakened state
may become irritable and uncomfortable if flooded with too much energy during a
treatment.
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