Laying on of hands

The laying on of hands is one of the oldest methods of treatment of the human race. In addition to the warming effect is mediated social proximity and thus acts reassuring. In contrast to massage the hands are not moving at the laying on of hands. To be distinguished from the laying on of hands is the symbolic gesture of laying on of hands as a religious ritual, which, however, can also have a healing aspect.

Several alternative medical therapies, such as Therapeutic Touch and Reiki, use the technique of laying on of hands. Esoteric explanations for all Handauflegevarianten claim that unspecified determinable from the hands of selected people would go out " energy flows ". The process is used by its proponents, and others for the treatment of shingles, eczema and other skin diseases. The effect in these diseases has not yet been demonstrated. Miraculous healings by laying on of hands described in the Bible and other works.

Physical touch can relieve anxiety, pain and fatigue in cancer patients. In the U.S., alternative medical treatment Therapeutic Touch plays a certain role. Some studies have dealt with the effect of such exposures on chronic pain and to improve the state of health in the elderly.