PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA. Therapeutic touch was developed in 1972 by Dora Kunz, a healer and Dolores Krieger, PhD RN, a professor at New York University. The technique involves manipulation of a patient's energy fields by a trained practitioner and has been found useful in decreasing anxiety and pain. Although over 40,000 nurses, doctors, and other health practitioners use the therapy it has not been generally accepted by mainstream medicine. This may now change as medical doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center report the results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial of the effectiveness of therapeutic touch (TT) on osteoarthritis of the knee. Twenty-five patients with confirmed osteoarthritis in the knee were randomized into three groups. One group received TT treatments once a week for six weeks from a trained practitioner, another group received a mock treatment once a week for six weeks from a non-practitioner, and the third group received standard medical treatment. Standardized, validated questionnaires and in-depth clinical assessments were used to evaluate the patients' pain levels, functionality, and general well-being at the start and end of the trial. The researchers found that patients given TT had significantly less pain and arthritis symptoms at the end of the treatment than did the patients in the other groups. They also reduced their use of medications, felt better able to deal with the frustrations of arthritis, and had a significantly higher level of well-being. The researchers conclude that TT is useful in alleviating symptoms of osteoarthritis and recommend additional and larger studies into the effects of TT. They conclude their report with the statement "In the meantime, it would be imprudent to reject a safe and effective therapy because we do not understand or do not accept its mode of action."
Gordon, Andrea, et al. The effects of therapeutic touch on patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 47, October 1998, pp. 271-77