Manual Healing

Overview Touch and manipulation, with the hands, have been in use in health and medical practice since the beginning of medical care. Physicians’ hands were once their most important diagnostic and therapeutic tool. Today, however, many medical and health practitioners tend to retreat from physical contact with the patient, distanced by diagnostic equipment and legal and time constraints. Manual healing methods are based on the understanding that dysfunction of a part of the body often affects secondarily the function of other discreet, not necessarily directly connected, body parts. Consequently, theories and processes have been developed for correcting secondary dysfunctions by manipulating soft tissues or realigning body parts. Overcoming misalignments and manipulating soft tissues bring the parts back to optimal function, and the body returns to health. Osteopathic Medicine One of the earliest U.S. healthcare systems to use manual healing methods was osteopathic medicine. In 1993 more than 32,000 American-educated and -licensed D.O.s were practicing in the United States. More than 60 percent of osteopathic physicians are involved in primary care — family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, and obstetrics-gynecology. An extensive body of work supports the use of osteopathic techniques for musculoskeletal and nonmusculoskeletal problems. Nearly all osteopathically oriented research has been funded from the private sector. Chiropractic Science Chiropractic science is concerned with investigating the relationship between structure (primarily of the spine) and function (primarily of the nervous system) of the human body to restore and preserve health. Chiropractic medicine applies such knowledge to diagnosing and treating structural dysfunctions that can affect the nervous system. Chiropractic physicians use manual procedures and interventions, not surgical or chemotherapeutic ones. In 1993, more than 45,000 licensed chiropractors were practicing in the United States. Chiropractic specialty areas are extremely pertinent to other medical specialties, such as radiology, orthopedics, neurology, and sports medicine. Current chiropractic research interests include back and other pain, somatovisceral disorders, and reliability studies. Massage Therapy Massage therapy, one of the oldest methods in healthcare practice, is the scientific manipulation of the soft body tissues to return those tissues to their normal state. Massage consists of a group of manual techniques that include applying fixed or movable pressure and holding and causing the body to move. Primarily the hands are used, but sometimes forearms, elbows, and feet are used also. These techniques can affect the musculoskeletal, circulatory-lymphatic, and nervous systems. Massage therapy encompasses the concept of vis medicatrix naturae — helping the body heal itself — and is aimed at achieving or increasing health and well-being. Touch is the fundamental medium of massage therapy. Massage therapists are licensed by 25 States, the District of Columbia, and several localities. Most States require 500 or more hours of education from a recognized school program and a licensing examination. Massage therapy techniques include Swedish massage, deep-tissue massage, sports massage, neuromuscular massage, and manual lymph drainage. Other physical healing methods include reflexology, zone therapy, tuina, acupressure, Rolfing, Trager, Feldenkrais method and Alexander technique. Biofield Therapeutics Biofield therapeutics — laying on of hands — is also a very old form of healing. The earliest Eastern references are in the Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wen (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine), dated between 2,500 and 5,000 years ago. The underlying rationales cluster around two views: first, that the healing force comes from a source other than the practitioner — God, the cosmos, or another supernatural entity — and second, that a human biofield directed, modified, or amplified in some way by the practitioner is the operative mechanism. During biofield treatment, the practitioner places hands directly on or near the patient’s body to improve general health or treat a specific dysfunction. Treatment sessions may take from 20 minutes to an hour or more; a series of sessions is often needed to treat some disorders. There is consensus among practitioners that the biofield permeates the physical body and extends outward for several inches. Extension of the external biofield depends on the person’s emotional state and health. Biofield practitioners have a holistic focus. About 50,000 practitioners provide 18 million sessions annually in the United States. At least three forms of biofield therapeutics are used in medical care inpatient and outpatient settings: healing touch, therapeutic touch, and SHEN therapy. No generally accepted theory accounts for the effect of these therapies. Adapted from Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons, a report prepared under the auspices of the Workshop on Alternative Medicine, held in Chantilly VA on September 14-16, 1992.