- Touching the skin near an area of pain can reduce its intensity
- The process of touching interferes with nerves dealing with pain
Touching a sore point actually eases the pain, suggests new research, which found brushing the skin within an inch or two of the site of pain can reduce its intensity and sharpness.
It is thought the effect comes from the nerve fibres that process touch interfering with those that deal with pain, resulting in ‘tactile analgesia’.
Volunteers were blindfolded and wore headphones to block out other sensory information. A laser was then briefly directed on to their forearms, to cause pain. Some volunteers also had a touch sensation applied 1cm away at the same time, by nylon hairs from a robot.
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Healing touch: It is thought the soothing effect comes from the nerve fibres that process touch interfering with those that deal with pain, resulting in 'tactile analgesia'
The results showed that when the laser and touch were applied simultaneously, people were less likely to report ‘high’ pain. Without the added touch, the laser was described as pricking 93 per cent of the time; with touch applied, that dropped to 28 per cent. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2541766/Health-Notes-A-touch-really-soothing.html
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