Touching pain? An algometric study on the effect of touch on pain pressure threshold.
Item
- Title
- Touching pain? An algometric study on the effect of touch on pain pressure threshold.
- Author(s)
- Auger, J
- Abstract
- Touch and pain are both experiences that are universally shared by all human beings; mothers all over the world and throughout times, have instinctively used touch to soothe their young. In 1965, Melzac & Wall presented their ever-enduring pain-gaiting theory which contributed to the theoretical understanding of the effect of touch on pain. However, despite the theory's popularity, a surprisingly small amount of research has been done on this subject. This dissertation aimed to explore the relationship between touch and pain and some of the neuro-physiological mechanisms potentially underlying their interactions. This aim was achieved using both, an extensive study of relevant literature in order to propose a theoretical hypothesis of touch-mediated pain modulation, and the implementation of a practical research. The later was an algometry study by which 60 E.5.0 students had their pain pressure threshold (PPT) measured on the forearm & calf before and after receiving one of three 3 minutes interventions: 1) touch on forearm, 2) "cutaneous stimulation" (towel wrapped around the forearm), 3) rest (control group). The purpose of the calf readings was to measure a potential global analgesic effect. The study of the literature revealed several potential pathways by which touch may have an anti-nociceptive effect on pain. These include the serotoninergic system, the dopaminergic system, the oxytocinergic system and the general benefits of relaxation. However, these stated benefits mostly emerged from research in the field of massage therapy and it is currently unknown if those benefits are transferable to touch. The practical research yielded inconclusive results whereby the Student's t-test & ANOVA results were found to be uncorrelated. The ANOVA test is generally said to be more sensitive than multiple t-tests (Jackson, 2009) and therefore, the author favoured those results. Locally (forearm), the ANOVA showed significance (p=0.005) and it was concluded that cutaneous stimulation does produce a significant difference in PPT locally (forearm) compared to the control group. Globally (calf), the ANOVA test was also significant (p=0.013) and it was concluded that there are significant differences in PPT distally (calf) between the touch and control groups. Albeit that the control group was driving this More research is required in order to establish if touch shares benefits with massage therapy. Other parameters also need to be addressed such as the length of touch application and the areas of application. Using bio-markers (i.e.: salivary cortisol level) would also add value to future studies, as would large sample size in order to increase thestatistical power.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2012
- Date Submitted
- 22.1.2013 16:23:35
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15203
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Touch, Pain pressure threshold, Algometry
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Auger, J, “Touching pain? An algometric study on the effect of touch on pain pressure threshold.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 2, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/862