Strengthening connections with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients through ‘Comforting Touch’

In one of our previous blogs, we’ve discussed in length how ‘touch’ plays a very crucial role (link: https://geriatriccaresolution.com/sustaining-happiness-in-the-elderly-care-through-touch-therapy/) in helping manage the everyday lives of seniors living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Watch the video below to find out more:

There are a few researches that establish the huge impact of touch therapy—which we refer to as Comforting Touch here at GCS—on helping promote a positive wellbeing and manageable temperament among seniors receiving in-home care.

This specialized method, which involves hands-on manipulation of soft body tissues by a trained practitioner, effectively helps decrease stress and anxiety among seniors. Aside from this, it also significantly helps improve their sense of self as well as their physical, emotional, and spiritual connection to the world around them.

Building trust in world of confusion

Seniors battling dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are almost always tangled in a web of varying emotions and levels of awareness.

This being the case, Comforting Touch helps build reassurance and trust between the senior and the one responsible for their care, whether it be a family user or a professional caregiver. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), “massage therapy can also help ease the effects of isolation, loneliness, and boredom while encouraging feelings of worthiness and wellbeing.” [1]

A 5-minute method that works

The AMTA team also recommends starting regular 5-minute hand massage sessions to help seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

The activity starts by requesting permission from the other person if you can apply lotion on their hands. Hold the hand of the other person to establish a connection, which can later be focused and centered. Gradually go from one finger to another, applying gentle squeezes on each one from the base to the fingertips and every once in a while making gentle circular motions. Doing this on a regular basis helps establish a strong bond between the person giving the massage and the senior receiving it, as massage is said to help

increase levels of serotonin[2], neurochemicals that promote calmness and a positive mood.

“Lack of human touch is real for the medically frail elder, leading to feelings of isolation, anxiety, poor trust in caregivers, insecurity and decreased sensory awareness. Older adults living with serious conditions are often especially receptive to touch. Unfortunately, they are least likely to receive expressive human touch from health care providers. Nursing students have been shown to experience anxiety about touching older patients. Yet elders report that touch communicates safety, care, reassurance and makes them feel more trust in caregivers,” writes Ann Catlin, founder of the Center for Compassionate Touch and a massage therapy expert.[3]

Aside from massaging the hands, other parts of the body that can also be focus points for massage therapy include the back (helps promote sleep and ease pain) and the foot (induces deep relaxation and alleviates anxiety).

[1] https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/massage-and-alzheimers/

[2] https://www.massagetoday.com/articles/15057/The-Role-of-Massage-Therapy-in-Dementia-Care

[3] https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/massage-and-alzheimers/

Strengthening connections with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients through ‘Comforting Touch’