THE HEALING HAND

Where does this expression come from? Well, millennia ago the hand was probably the strongest painkiller, and the healing touch of a doctor has stayed in our collective memory ever since. As I have already mentioned, it was for a reason that Hippocrates singled out the word, the herb and the hand as the three cornerstones of medicine.

The hand as a diagnostic tool

The doctor’s hand is a powerful diagnostic tool. We all learned palpation and percussion at medical school, those simple skills are now all but completely replaced with high-tech.  They used to say that if a patient does not feel better after a conversation with a doctor, he is dealing with a bad doctor. If this is at least partly true, patients felt relief and comfort when their doctors not only talked to them but also slowly felt their stomachs and tapped on their chests. The visit was reminiscent of a magic ritual, the doctor’s rhythmic manipulations calmed down the patient, alleviating his pain and anxiety.

The reason is not the patient’s auto-suggestion – the hand is indeed a mighty instrument of intuitive learning.

Ayurveda, the Indian medical system, heavily relies on pulse diagnostics to determine disorders in any organ or body system.

There is much more to this effect than the patient’s auto-suggestion. The hand is indeed a mighty instrument of intuitive learning. At the moment of live contact with the patient’s body, the body’s secrets of interactions among blood vessels, nerves, muscles and the walls of internal organs reveal themselves to the doctor’s mind’s eye. Physical response to his gentle touches and finger pressure during the examination may be more useful than the shadows of organs and systems on the X-ray slides or on computer monitors, not to mention radiologists’ interpretation of these shadows.

Thanks to high hand sensitivity, vast experience, and deep intuition, ancient doctors in the East could evaluate general health as well as the status of individual organs by the patient’s pulse. It’s a shame that this art seems to be lost for good these days.

The hand of a therapist

On top of being a supersensitive diagnostic tool, the hand is a formidable therapeutic instrument, even when it’s not armed with a surgical knife or a mechanical contraption.

First, the hand can treat sensitive nodes (a.k.a. trigger points) that generate painful pulses and spasms in adjacent muscles. Spasms cause blood supply disorders (ischemia) and damage tissue, much like myocardial infarction damages the heart and stroke impairs the brain. A trained hand can “talk” these nodes into relaxation. This improves blood circulation and, in some cases, instantly eliminates the pain. The healing hand, indeed.

The hand is a painkiller

A trained hand can “untie” muscles and joints, alleviating pain without rigid manipulations.

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today.

Annie Johnston Flint

A trained hand can “untie” joints as well as muscles. A minor displacement of internal surfaces may often block the joint, limit its flexibility, and pinch nerve endings. Pain and immobility promote inflammation and swelling (edema) that, for their part, increase pain and seal the vicious circle of herniation and compression of tender tissue. An experienced therapist can alleviate pain by means of gentle stretching. This technique, called manual decompression, has little in common with painful chiropractic manipulations or forceful joint mobilization in physical therapy.

Decompression restores blood supply to squeezed tissues and relaxes muscle spasms. The joint softens and, when slightly pressed in the right direction, easily opens without any unnecessary “pops” to return to freedom. A moving joint pumps away the edema. This starts a chain reaction of decompression of pinched nerves and nerve roots. The final result is pain alleviation.

This special therapy developed at our medical center can handle even difficult and advanced cases. Moreover, it follows the first Hippocrates’ rule: “First, do not hurt.” Tissues are released by creating the right conditions inside the joint rather than by brute force. This is why our treatment leads to lasting results and helps restore neighboring joints and the entire spine.

The proper use of the hand’s potential,l achieved by combining ancient medical knowledge with modern technology, can often help when medications fail.