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No. 88: Jul-Aug 1993

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The Effect Of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch On Healing Rate

"The effect of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch (NCTT) on the rate of surgical healing was examined in a doubleblind study. Full-thickness dermal wounds were incised on the lateral deltoid region, using a skin punch biopsy instrument, on healthy subjects randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects were blinded both to group assignment and to the true nature of the active treatment modality in order to control placebo and expectation effects. Incisions were dressed with gaspermeable dressings, and wound surface areas were measured on Days, 0, 8, and 16 using a direct tracing method and digitization system. Active and control treatments were comprised of daily sessions of five minutes of exposure to a hidden Therapeutic Touch practitioner or to sham exposure.

"Results showed that treated subjects experienced a significant acceleration in the rate of wound healing as compared to non-treated subjects at day 8."

(Wirth, Daniel P.; "The Effect of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch on the Healing Rate of Full Thickness Dermal Wounds," Subtle Energies, 1:1, 1990. Quoted abstract text above taken from Exceptional Human Experience, 10:248, 1993.)

From Science Frontiers #88, JUL-AUG 1993. � 1993-2000 William R. Corliss