O poder do toque na massagem e a fisiologia envolvida: uma revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

In a world that is increasingly busy and with less physical contact, it becomes important to understand all the benefits that touch can bring in hospital environments, in beauty centers, or even at home, on a daily basis. With the pandemic and social isolation, the importance of physical contact has gained evidence and showed the need for studies that show how this act influences the state of health. Today the integrative and complementary practice offers some therapeutic alternatives that use touch, such as ayurveda, acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic, reflexotherapy, and shantala. Among these practices, one of the best known is massage. Thus, this work aimed to perform a bibliographic survey on the physiological effects of the different massage touch techniques, how they can help promote health and well-being of individuals, as an example, the vitality in babies, and the reduction of pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. For this, a search for information was conducted in books, scientific articles, and in different databases that have conveyed, in the last 30 years, data on therapeutic touch, massage therapy, and the promotion of health and well-being through this practice. It was observed that massage can act to reduce anxiety, depression, pain related to pathologies, and improve the immune system, among other effects that involve body, mind, and health. During the COVID19 pandemic, due to social isolation, a higher number of cases of depression and anxiety were observed, and this was related to the lack of social interaction and especially to the lack of a basic gesture, the touch. Studies have already shown that massage touch has several benefits, but there is still a lack of studies involving a larger number of people, observing the results more closely and with high technology. It is also noteworthy that there are few studies correlating this contact in premature babies. Finally, it is mentioned that touch is very important, because it is part of the five senses, which are essential for a balanced emotional life. Furthermore, touch and massage are basic gestures that anyone is able to perform and feel, without the need to learn very specific techniques.