The healing nature of touch has been realized for hundreds and even thousands of years as evidenced, for example, in ancient Greek, Chinese, and Hindu writings dating back as far as 3000 BC. From ancient times to present day, millions of people have and continue to seek the right kind of healing touch to relieve pain and illness. How does touch work to reduce pain and help the body heal? To answer this question we must first figure out what touch is. Touch is a form of stress. And its effect on a target tissue is a form of strain. The amount of strain depends on how hard one touches, in what direction the force is applied, and how much time the force is applied on a given tissue. Common stresses (aka touches) seen in manual therapy include joint manipulation, percussion, light contact, deep pressure, stroking, passive stretching and vibration. Just as healthy activity and exercise stretch and deform soft tissue structures, all forms of therapeutic touch appear to create physical changes in cellular structure consequently stimulating a cellular response mechanism. The target cell membranes can detect the mechanical forces and respond by altering cell shape, behavior, and produce chemical signals that can aid the target tissue (1). But what is even more interesting is that not only does the target tissue respond to the touch stress, but neighboring tissue cells outside of the touch field respond in a similar fashion through an intracellular communication pathway.
We now know that too little (or too much) movement can cause disorganization in collagen, loss of healthy cell structure, and on a macro level, muscular/tendon/ligament weakness and fibrosis. Ultimately the end result can be cell death if we do not move, or move too much (2). It appears we have yet another balancing act to manage. However, this intracellular connection and its requirement for movement and physical stress is why we need to stay active as much as we can.
Finding the exact form of therapeutic touching necessary for optimal tissue repair has not been an exact science as of yet. Some studies indicate a light touch whereas other studies suggest deep, aggressive methods. I think it is fair to say that there is an art to touch in the healing realm in that not every person can tolerate the same pressures as indicated in some techniques. In these cases, the practitioner must weigh the appropriateness of the procedure and apply the next effective approach. The bottom line though is that our bodies need physical movement to survive and that touch is and effective natural and nurturing intervention to facilitate our vitality.
1. Langevin HM, Bouffard NA, Badger GJ, et al. Dynamic fibroblast cytoskeletal response to subcutaneous tissue stretch ex vivo and in vivo. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, 2005;288:C747-56.
2. Falanga V, Kirsner RS. Low oxygen stimulates proliferation of fibroblasts seeded as single cells. J Cell Physiol, 1993;154(3)506-10.
We now know that too little (or too much) movement can cause disorganization in collagen, loss of healthy cell structure, and on a macro level, muscular/tendon/ligament weakness and fibrosis. Ultimately the end result can be cell death if we do not move, or move too much (2). It appears we have yet another balancing act to manage. However, this intracellular connection and its requirement for movement and physical stress is why we need to stay active as much as we can.
Finding the exact form of therapeutic touching necessary for optimal tissue repair has not been an exact science as of yet. Some studies indicate a light touch whereas other studies suggest deep, aggressive methods. I think it is fair to say that there is an art to touch in the healing realm in that not every person can tolerate the same pressures as indicated in some techniques. In these cases, the practitioner must weigh the appropriateness of the procedure and apply the next effective approach. The bottom line though is that our bodies need physical movement to survive and that touch is and effective natural and nurturing intervention to facilitate our vitality.
1. Langevin HM, Bouffard NA, Badger GJ, et al. Dynamic fibroblast cytoskeletal response to subcutaneous tissue stretch ex vivo and in vivo. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, 2005;288:C747-56.
2. Falanga V, Kirsner RS. Low oxygen stimulates proliferation of fibroblasts seeded as single cells. J Cell Physiol, 1993;154(3)506-10.
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