Healing Touch International, Inc. - research

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research - immune system

ENDOCRINE/IMMUNE FUNCTION/HIV DISEASE

The latest research on Healing Touch to assist the immune system, the endocrine system, and HIV disease. More complete information about these studies is available in the Healing Touch International Research Survey. [MORE...]

A Pilot Study of the Effect of Chakra Connection and Magnetic Unruffling on the Perception of Pain in People with Fibromyalgia. Dick Diener, PhD

This pilot study was conducted to evaluate two Healing Touch modalities (chakra connection and magnetic unruffling/clearing) with five female subjects diagnosed with fibromyalgia on their perceived level of pain. The first observation was that the perception of the differences in pain experienced before and after the treatment varied greatly both among the subjects in the study as well as individually over different sessions. The second observation was that there were greater effects from the treatments earlier in the series. The women reported some improvement in 66% of the sessions. The average initial (before) pain levels were very close among four of the five subjects and the average final (after) pain levels were considerably more varied. The women were generally positive about their experiences with the treatments.

Effects of Healing Touch and Other Complementary Therapies on Diabetes. Patricia Merritt, RN, HNC, HTP, NCRT A combination of Healing Touch, massage, and reflexology was tested in diabetic patients. Blood sugar and biofeedback measures were obtained before and after the sessions. There was a 70% decrease in blood sugar (when using combined therapies) and 77% of the subjects receiving Healing Touch had warming of their hands which suggests improved circulation.

The Clinical Effectiveness of Healing Touch Dawn Schluckebier Wilkinson, MS, Pamela Knox, PhD, James Chatman, PhD, Terrance L. Johnson, PhD, N. Barbour, MA, Y. Myles, BA., and A.Reel, BS

The objective of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of Healing Touch on indicators of health enhancement and to determine whether practitioner-training level moderates treatment effectiveness. Twenty-two participants received either no treatment, a standard Healing Touch session or standard Healing Touch plus music and guided imagery session. Clients reported a significant reduction in stress level after both Healing Touch conditions. Pain relief was reported by six of the eleven participants experiencing pain. The results indicated practitioners with more training had clients that experienced significant positive immune function change over the Healing Touch treatment series, while clients of practitioners with less experience did not.

An Alternative Treatment Modality Compared To a Traditional Treatment Control Group: An Energy-Based Intervention with Fibromyalgia Diagnosed Women. Donna Crowley, PhD, Linda Colvin, MS, RN, and Steve Ball, PhD

To provide support for use of Healing Touch with women diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a pilot study was conducted to experimentally compare specific Healing Touch. A purposeful sample of nine women meeting diagnostic criteria for Fibromyalgia were selected and randomly assigned to one of two groups: Healing Touch treatment group, or Relaxation through Guided Imagery control group. Findings indicated that there were positive changes for all participants on some measures and significantly greater changes for the Healing Touch group compared to the Relaxation control group on other measures.

Effectiveness and Efficacy of Healing. Dawn Wilkinson, MS

Thirteen participants with no prior experience in Healing Touch were each given two treatments by a Healing Touch practitioner. The Healing Touch provider and the client were asked about their experiences and both reported their sense of connectedness to the healing process. Major themes identified were changes, relaxation, awareness of process, practitioner deliberateness, and heightened holistic awareness. All clients except one reported positive changes after treatment. Relaxation appeared in nearly all descriptions by clients and half of the descriptions by practitioners. Positive health changes and personal growth were experienced by many of the participants. Relaxation, physical touch, and energy exchange were the most frequent answers given by clients when asked what they felt were the most important elements of Healing Touch.

Psychoneuroimmunology and Healing Touch in HIV Disease. Jo Wheeler Robins, PhD

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Healing Touch on well-being and neuroendocrine function in individuals living with HIV disease. A total of 27 males completed the 4-week Healing Touch intervention. Well-being was measured by three well-being, two physiological distress instruments, and a number of biological measures of immune function. There were no significant findings on any of the measures. Study participants did, however, indicate that the positive effects they experienced seemed more directly related to stress reduction and spiritual growth, which were not directly measured.

The Clinical Effectiveness of Healing Touch on HIV-infected Individuals. Dawn Schluckebier Wilkinson, MS

This exploratory study investigated the clinical effectiveness of Healing Touch on HIV-infected individuals for improving immune markers and quality of life. A small sample of 27% of the participants met the criteria for positive response, one on the immune measure and three on quality of life. All positive responders were HIV symptomatic and showed evidence of change over the treatment series, as compared to change over a single Healing Touch treatment. Healing Touch could not be isolated as solely responsible for the positive changes.

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