The Effect of Therapeutic Touch on Bone Formation in Postmenopausal Women After Wrist Fracture

In the United States, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) increased by approximately 25% between 1990 and 1997. The number of visits to CAM practitioners exceeded visits to primary care physicians by about 250 million in 1997. Energy medicine modalities, including therapeutic touch, healing touch, and reiki, are commonly utilized for conditions ranging from headache to cancer, yet understanding of the human energy field and how it may be used in healing is limited. This study will examine the effect of therapeutic touch on fracture healing in postmenopausal women. Women will be enrolled in the study within one week of a wrist fracture and will receive either therapeutic touch or a sham (placebo) treatment daily for 3 weeks. Assessments will include blood and urine analysis and measures of pain and function in the affected wrist.