By Dr. Chau Phan, Pharmacist and owner of Pleasant Care Pharmacy
I don’t typically quote from another source at the beginning of a blog article, but I found a wonderfully succinct and clear definition of “therapeutic touch” (a hot topic in the complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] arena) that I want to share with you up front:
- Touch therapy is an umbrella term for a variety of techniques that are based on theories that touching or manipulating the body or its so-called energy field (known as the biofield) can promote physical, emotional and spiritual wellness and healing. These techniques range from the virtually mainstream massage therapy to the medical fringe, such as Therapeutic Touch—its theory that healing energy can be channeled to the body without actual touch remaining harder to grasp.
In two vlog interviews with a licensed massage therapist and esthetician (Annie Sage Bowen of Annie Sage Skin Care & Massage) that I posted on YouTube a couple years ago, she and I talk about (and she demonstrates) techniques specific to her practice that can contribute to healthy skin.
Three important benefits of massage for promoting skin health
The beneficial effects of massage therapy that relate to maintaining the well-being of your skin fall into three general categories: de-stressing, increasing blood flow and de-toxifying.
- As
described in a paper published by the National Center for Biotechnology
Information, “…children with eczema…who were
massaged during the application of their skin medication showed less anxiety
after the massage sessions…the children also showed an improved clinical
condition including less redness, lichenification, scaling, excoriation, and
pruritus.”
(Note from Dr. Phan: “lichenification” is the thickened and leathery condition that results from continually rubbing and / or scratching the skin. “escoriation” is repeated picking at the skin that causes damage. And “pruritus” is severe itch.) - Massage increases blood flow to areas of the skin prone to eczema and psoriasis breakouts, bringing restorative vitamins, minerals and oxygen to those areas.
- Equally important is massage’s ability to help the body eliminate carbon dioxide by stimulating blood flow.
Cautions about massage
As always, I advise patients to let their doctor know about any CAM techniques they want to try in connection with their treatment. There are also some things that you and your massage therapist should watch out for if you decide to take advantage of massage therapy:
- Be careful to avoid massaging areas of major flare-ups. (With permission from the client, a therapist may use some light-touch methods in those areas.)
- Be cautious around cracked or fragile skin.
- Avoid massage for people with contagious conditions, such as acne. Massage is often helpful in relaxing someone whose acne flare-ups can be triggered by stress, but areas with active pimples should be avoided – for the protection of the therapist, as well as to prevent spread of the disease.
- Do not massage parts of the body that appear to be affected by lesions or infections.
- Do not use oils or lubricants that could irritate or inflame an outbreak. (For essential oils that can be beneficial in healing skin conditions, see my article posted in May.)
I will close this article the way I began it – with a quote, this time from the site of the University of Minnesota, “Therapeutic Touch does not attempt to cure disease, but rather to stimulate the body’s natural healing process.” I think it makes perfect sense to look into any therapies that can help you protect your body’s first line of defense from attacks against its wellness. Don’t you?
Several of the products I offer on the humanitibeauty.com site may be just what you need to follow my recommendations in this article. If you would like more information about Humaniti Beauty’s products or about me, you can contact me at info@humanitibeauty.com or call me at 510.200.9984.
Sources for this article:
Authors, Various. “Therapeutic Touch.” Science Direct, Elsevier. www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/therapeutic-touch.
Authors, Various. “Therapeutic Touch.” Science Direct, Elsevier. www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/therapeutic-touch
Bach, Marilyn. “Therapeutic Touch.” Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing, University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/therapeutic-touch.
Bruce, Debra Fulghum. “What Is the Difference between Therapeutic Touch and Massage? | Musculoskeletal Manipulations.” Sharecare, Sharecare, Inc. www.sharecare.com/health/musculoskeletal-manipulations/difference-between-therapeutic-touch-massage.
Field, T. “Massage Therapy for Skin Conditions in Young Children.” Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 2005. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16112449.
Gangloff, Jennifer M. “The Science & Controversy behind Touch Therapies.” Cure Today, Cancer Updates, Research & Education, 24 Mar. 2005. www.curetoday.com/publications/cure/2005/spring2005/the-science-and-controversy-behind-touch-therapies.
“How to Find a Complementary Health Practitioner.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 24 Sept. 2017. nccih.nih.gov/health/howtofind.htm.
“Massage Therapy for Health Purposes.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 23 Mar. 2017. nccih.nih.gov/health/massage/massageintroduction.htm.
Trepess, Rodney. “5 Skin Conditions Every Massage Therapist Is Going to Bump Into – MassageSchool.org .” MassageSchool.org, 28 Jan. 2016, www.massageschool.org/blog/2016/01/27/5-skin-conditions-every-massage-therapist-is-going-to-bump-into/.