Touch Healing (TH) therapies, defined here as treatments whose primary route of administration is tactile contact and/or active guiding of somatic attention, are ubiquitous across cultures. Despite increasing integration of TH into mainstream medicine through therapies such as Reiki, Therapeutic Touch,(TM) and somatically focused meditation practices such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, relatively little is known about potential underlying mechanisms. Here, we present a neuroscientific explanation for the prevalence and effectiveness of TH therapies for relieving chronic pain. We begin with a cross-cultural review of several different types of TH treatments and identify common characteristics, including: light tactile contact and/or a somatosensory attention directed toward the body, a behaviorally relevant context, a relaxed context and repeated treatment sessions. These cardinal features are also key elements of established mechanisms of neural plasticity in somatosensory cortical maps, suggesting that sensory reorganization is a mechanism for the healing observed. Consideration of the potential health benefits of meditation practice specifically suggests that these practices provide training in the regulation of neural and perceptual dynamics that provide ongoing resistance to the development of maladaptive somatic representations. This model provides several direct predictions for investigating ways that TH may induce cortical plasticity and dynamics in pain remediation.

J Altern Complement Med. 2007 Mar;13(2):301.

Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Moore CI.

Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Catherine.Kerr@hms.harvard.edu

Posted: 07/15/2007



This article provided by The International Hypnosis Research Institute.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the IHRI Newsletter.

Eliminate Depression Eliminate Depression!This hypnosis session can lead you out of the dark tunnel of depression by working at the inner mind level to start reprogramming the negative and self destroying thoughts that have been affecting your mind and body.

Mind Body Integration Good Health Starts in the Mind – Train it today! Hypnosis can be extremely effective in enhancing physical health because it works on the inner mind level and you will start to experience a more vibrant health and a richer, more energetic lifestyle.

Excessive Sweating Management Excessive Sweating Management with Hypnosis.There are two parts of the brain that control sweating,body temperature&emotional sweating response.This session will reprogram both these functions so that your body regulates itself in a more normal.