The use of therapeutic touch in the management of pain

Nursing by definition is in part nurturing. It is the care of human beings--people who should be viewed and treated as a unified whole, people who interact with the environment and those around them on many levels. Nursing as a profession offers a unique service to those who are ill and in pain. That service takes form in many ways, among them a deep caring for the patients. The caring component in nursing is one of the most valuable intangibles, and TT is one of the most basic of the caring skills. TT provides the patient with extra care and puts the "art" back in nursing. But TT is also something much more than that. TT is a very personal act of caring, of giving to another person. To the patient with pain, TT affirms that you care and that you are acknowledging their pain. That, in and of itself, can be a source of great comfort to someone with pain. The management of pain is a complex and inexact science at best. The pain experience is a complex and often frustrating one. Patients look to various members of the health care profession for assistance and affirmation of their pain. But there are no "magic bullets" in the treatment of pain; even TT is not a universally effective therapy. There is a great deal to learn about pain, about the treatment of pain, and about TT. The challenge now is to continue the research to better understand pain, to understand the human response to pain, and to explain the phenomenon of TT, one modality in the treatment of pain. In implementing this research effort, it is important to recognize that objective scientific information is a necessary but insufficient component in understanding pain. Subjective information, the pain experience, is just as necessary for fully understanding the problem of pain. Until research provides better approaches, the treatment of the patient with pain, regardless of modality, demands multiple approaches, a commitment to keep trying, engaging the patient in the treatment plan, and moving at the patient's pace, not that of the care giver or health care team.