The
Healing Benefits of Touch
By
Lain Ehmann
We know without
being told that kids – especially babies –
need plenty of positive physical attention. But
only recently have we begun to recognize that
touch is an important component of good health
for everyone – regardless of age. In fact, new
studies highlight touch therapy as a way to
combat medical conditions such as osteoarthritis,
depression, fibromyalgia and more.
Why
Is Touch So Important?
Study
after study indicate that touch has a beneficial
effect on our perception of pain, treatment of
disease, and emotional and physical development.
“Touch is important for survival itself.
We’re meant to be touched. It’s part of our
inherent genetic development,” says massage
therapist Elliot Greene of Silver Spring, MD,
past president of the American Massage Therapy
Association (AMTA). Yes, touch feels good –
but exactly why it’s so important for our
ability to develop normally goes deeper.
Lewis Mehl-Madrona,
M.D., Ph.D., author of “Coyote Medicine” and
program director at the Center for Health and
Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New
York, has some ideas. First, after touch therapy
such as massage there’s a slow-down in the
action of the hypothalamic area of the brain,
which controls the so-called “fight or
flight” response. Your body’s stress
hormones drop and endorphins climb, leading to a
decreased perception of pain and a greater
feeling of well-being. At the same time, the
muscles that are touched or massaged relax as
well.
Treatment
of Disease
Because
of touch’s positive effects, researchers have
started to look at using touch as a treatment
for a variety of medical complaints. “In
almost every study done on touch, there’s
obviously a beneficial effect,” says Dr.
Mehl-Madrona.
For
instance, researchers at the University of
Wisconsin – Eau Claire discovered that touch
improved pain, tension, mood, satisfaction and
hand function in arthritic patients in a 1998
study.
In addition, massage and other touch therapies
may positively impact autism and Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD) in youth, resulting in
greater relaxation and less acting-out. Dr.
Mehl-Madrona has also researched the effect of
touch on asthma and uterine fibroids, both of
which, he reports, seem to respond well. Dr.
Mehl-Madrona sees touch therapy as one of the
treatment methods that anyone with a chronic
illness should consider.
Do
I Have to See a Professional?
If
you want to incorporate touch therapy into your
treatment plan for a medical condition,
consulting a professional is always a wise
choice. But don’t underestimate the benefits
associated with everyday touching of your
friends and family. Doubters need look no
further than a mother’s natural desire to calm
her infant to know that “layperson’s”
touching can have an immediate positive effect.
You
can benefit from these positive effects by
bringing more touch into your daily activities.
Something as simple as hugging family and
friends hello and goodbye can help put them –
and you – in a good frame of mind and may even
provide a boost to their physical health as
well. And with virtually no negative side
effects, a good dose of touching may be just
what the doctor ordered.
