Touch shown to trigger healing reaction

Just like toppling a domino, touching someone triggers a complex chain reaction that can foster healing.

"As an individual who's been a nurse for 33 years, I've personally witnessed the healing power of touch," said Maggie Ozan Rafferty, chief experience officer and registered nurse at St. Rose hospitals and clinics. "We see it every single day in the hospital."

One of the biggest perks of physical contact stemming from caring and affection is that it sustains the release of serotonin in the body, said Dr. Neil Gokal, who works at Turntable Health, 701 E. Bridger Ave., Suite 150.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found in the gastrointestinal tract, the blood platelets and the central nervous system and contributes to feelings of well-being.

"It's a neurotransmitter that has to do with a lot of bodily functions," Gokal said. "Sometimes, that entrance and exit (of serotonin) is so rapid that sometimes we have not-so-great results from it."

Serotonin affects mood, sexual function, sleep, the appetite, cognition and the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, to name a few.

Rafferty said health care providers at St. Rose hospitals incorporate touch routinely to aid in healing and promote comfort when dealing with patients, using it in varying degrees, depending on patients' preferences.

"At the hospital right now, we have a big emphasis on touch," she said.

She recalled her days as a nurse's aide early in her career, when one of her chief responsibilities during her rounds was giving patients back rubs.

"You can physically see a person relax," she said. "Before you touch them, they might have been anxious. There's things that happen clinically to a body when touch happens — endorphins are released."

Even outside the health care setting, physical contact is crucial, said Vickie Smith, a licensed massage therapist and a healing touch-certified practitioner and instructor. Healing touch is an energy-based therapy.

"When touch happens, we go into more of an autonomic state, which is really a state of relaxation, which is where the bowels start to function normally, we tend to breathe deeper, there's actually more oxygen to the cells; there's a lot that happens," Smith said. "I believe that touch is imperative. You cannot thrive without healthy touch. I think it's relevant in every relationship."

However, Smith said physical contact must occur in the proper context for it to have benefits.

"We can be intimate with someone, but if there's anger or animosity or mistrust, we don't thrive, even if there's contact," she said.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.