The efficacy of therapeutic touch
Compared with the scarce evidence base of tactile touch, therapeutic touch, has been proven to be applicable recently in a variety of different populations and settings in recent years. Eight experimental researches and four qualitative researches are explored in this part.
TT is safe and effective to be implemented on hospitalized patients. Newshan & Schuller-Civitella (2003) conducted a large-scale study on 605 patients from 1998 to 2000. 48% of patients (n=259) claimed reduced pain suffering. 48% of patients (n=254) were found to have physiological response relating to relaxation; 90%(n=83) patients rated TT as either “very helpful” or “helpful”. 12% (n=605) of patients reported no change and 20% fell asleep during TT sessions. However, the lack of a predetermined time for TT treatment and a comparison group, the self-administered questionnaire and the convenience sample limited the generalizability of this study.
TT may be of value as an adjunctive measure in lowering anxiety levels and reducing withdrawal symptoms for chemical dependency. Larden et al. (2004) undertook a three-group RCT to investigate the TT effects on pregnant hospitalized women with chemical dependency. 42 out of 54 women completed the study and only 16 received the consecutive 7-day treatments. A lower anxiety level was found in the TT group compared to presence and standard care group (p=0.27) on the first three days of intervention. The short period treatments, high dropout rate (22%), the inability to blind participants, small sample size might contribute to the insignificant change in mean symptom score.
TT could facilities the mind-body connection. Movaffaghi & Farsi (2006) used a double blind RCT to examine TT effect...
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...cy of blinding participants; inconsistent data collectors resulting in incomplete datasets; convenience sample; inappropriate recording time and the placebo effects may create a therapeutic relationship of participants that makes the scientific study of measurement of touch therapies problematic (O’Regan et al., 2010).
Above all, the invalidated measurements especially for subjective parameters and the different length of the TT session time are also common shortcomings across all studies.
Precautions of performing touch therapies
There are various factors that pose an influential effect on touch performance, including the external contextual variables and patients’ internal characters. Harrison et al.(2012) found the effects of touch could be benefical or harmful depending on a myriad of clients, contextual and professional variations.
Environmental influences:
Fortinash, K. M., & Holoday Worret, P. A. (Eds.). (2012). Substance-related disorders and addictive behaviors. Psychiatric mental health nursing (5th ed., pp. 319-362). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Ernst, E., & Resch, K. L. (1995). Concept of true and perceived placebo effects. British Medical
...tive pain management and Improvement in patients outcomes and satisfaction [Magazine]. Critical Care Nurse, 35(3), 37,35,42. Retrieved from
Assessing and managing pain is an inevitable part of nursing and the care of patients. Incomplete relief of pain remains prevalent despite years of research due to barriers such as lack of kn...
Touch is as essential to a healthy and happy life as eating right, getting proper sleep, and exercising. With the world growing more technological, the need for healthy human contact is more important than ever. Massage and body therapies are an age old healing refuge for us in this fast-paced, stressed-out world. The practice of massage therapy is rapidly growing in the United States. It has so much to offer and is becoming more widely accepted by doctors and the general public. Massage is touching another person by such movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling, slapping, and tapping. This type of therapy provides circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation of muscles, relief from pain, restoration of metabolic balance, and many other benefits both physical and mental. There is much historical evidence to indicate that massage is one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for the restoration of a healthy body. It is said to be the most natural and instinctive means of relieving pain and discomfort. Massage has proven to be an effective method for treating many conditions for thousands of years and it will continue to be used for thousands of years to come. Massage therapy is a great treatment for the body and soul.
...7 millimeters was guessed incorrectly, thus indicating the lack of sharpness subject 1 possessed in this area of the body. Next we proceeded with subject 2, under very similar conditions. Subject 2 was tested with more pressure points than subject 1 to proceed to more detailed results. Beginning with the finger, subject 2 guessed 7 out of 8 pressure points correctly. This result shows a very good acuity to his tactile system around the fingers, as stated by (Bruce et al. 1980). Next we proceeded with his forearm, in methods similar to subject 1 but with more pokes. In this test subject 2 only guessed 2 out of 7 of the points correctly, indicating a sharp decrease in acuity in these areas. Lastly we applied the moving two point discrimination test on a third subject. We started at the palm and he felt the two points only by the time we moved 3 mm towards the finger.
The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety issues surrounding PCA use include infusion pump programing errors, basal infusion dosing, and proxy errors when using PCA by proxy (Ladak, Chan, Easty, & Chagpar, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this report is to examine the benefits and risks of patient-controlled analgesia and how it relates to nursing practice.
Weaknesses: Not as well controlled as Designed of Experiments, usually requires more computing resources, and relies on large amount of repeated random sampling in order to obtain an approximate result
Jackson, M.A. & Simpson, K. H. (2006). Chronic Back Pain. Continuing Education in Anaethesia, Critical Care and Pain, 6(4), 152-155. http://dx.doi: 10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkl029
There are many reasons why I am a tactile learner. To begin, how I learn is that I do things with my hands. I mostly do hard work that uses my hands like carrying things. Additionally, it has been proven that I am a tactile learner through a quiz. I will do lots of hands-on activities. I can learn faster by taking notes, or using a bookmark or sticky note to mark something important so I can go back to it whenever I need to. For example, I will always either tap a pencil, shake my foot, or hold on to something while learning. To conclude, I learn best by touching, building, moving, drawing and typing.
The major concepts deduced from the hypothesis fall under three categories: (1) multimodal intervention, (2) attentive care, and (3) patient participation. Multimodal intervention includes the concepts of potent pain medication, pharmacological adjuvants, and non-pharmacological adjuvants. Attentive care relates to the assessment of pain and side effects and intervention along with reassessments. Patient participation includes goal setting and patient education. The resulting outcome of these three categories working together is the balance between analgesia and side effects.
Electrical stimulation (ES) therapy involves the transfer of electrical current across wound tissue through the two electrodes and uses three types of currents: AC, DC and Pulse DC. According to various studies, electrical stimulation therapy has shown to reduce inflammation, edema, improve wound appearance, cause a faster reduction in wound size by helping to kick start the wound healing process and is cost effective for many patients. It has generated a positive impact on patient’s comfort and convenience. Electrical stimulation therapy has provided numerous beneficial effects in wound healing demonstrated by various studies, however; further research trials are needed in order to prove the effectiveness and benefits of electrical stimulation therapy as it relates to wound healing (Cutting, 2006).
This paper will discuss the mind-body connection and it's relevance to health care professionals and to the public. It will explore the history of the mind-body connection, as well as state research that has been done on the subject. The reader will gain an understanding of the various techniques used in mind-body therapy, as well as their effectiveness.
According to Massage Today “Massage therapy is recognized as one of the oldest methods of healing, with references in medical texts nearly 4,000 years old”. I feel that the benefit of rubbing aching muscles and hurt limbs comes to us as naturally as breathing air. Among its many purposes and advantages, massage soothes achy muscles, helps heal injuries, strengthens baby’s muscles and relieves stress. To me, massage is not only a way to soothe the muscles and relieve the everyday stresses of society, massage is a way to connect with others through the common practice of touch. We have needed touch in our lives since the first seconds after our birth, so it’s not surprising that we would seek out touch in the form of massage.
experience in 40 to 50 percent; and touch, taste, smell, and pain in a relatively