Developed by the Complementary Therapies Team at St Christopher’s Hospice
Use of Touch & Simple Massage
Touch
We use touch in many ways when caring for people. Often it is a necessary part of achieving something practical, such as helping someone to get washed & dressed or to give an injection, & may not always be seen as welcome or pleasant.
But touch is also a fundamental and very important means of human communication. We all need touch as part of our lifelong need to be nurtured, valued & cared for, but sometimes when people are elderly or sick, they can become starved of touch for many reasons. When we think about how we touch our own loved ones – partners, parents, children etc – we can see how a simple touch can often convey care, compassion & empathy in a way which may be difficult with words alone.
So when & how can we include this kind of therapeutic touch into the professional care that we give to clients & to their families?
- If a person is anxious or agitated, your gentle touch can be very calming, relaxing & soothing.
- If a person is sad, lonely, it may be difficult to know what to say, but your touch can show empathy & caring, & may comfort them & ease their pain.
- If a person is feeling depressed, isolated or worthless, then your touch can show them that they are valued & cared for.
Not everyone likes to be touched & every situation is different, so it may depend on your relationship with that person & on you reading cues from their body language, their behaviour & what you already know about them.
- It may be as simple as just holding their hand or gently touching a shoulder, or it may be that you could include some basic massage into their care.
- This may be something you can include in the care you already give your residents in the care home – such as a hand massage at the end of a bed-bath, gentle leg massage whilst in the bath, or maybe a brief foot massage to promote sleep when being settled down for the night.
- For a distressed relative, you might offer to massage their hands when words just don’t seem enough.
Hand Massage
Hands are hard-working parts of the body, so it is deeply comforting to have them massaged. It needn’t take long & is less intrusive than massaging anywhere that needs to be undressed. You don’t have to be a qualified therapist to give a simple, gentle hand massage – just using gentle stroking movements (nothing deep or manipulating). The movements stimulate the circulation of the blood, warming the hands & helping muscle tone. Thousands of nerve endings in the fingers & palms increase the calming, relaxing effects of a hand massage on the whole body & the emotions, making the person feel cared for and nurtured.
When NOT to give Hand Massage
On broken, weeping, infected or highly sensitive skin.
If the person has a new pain there, not yet assessed by a doctor.
Tips for giving a Relaxing Hand Massage
Make sure the person is in a comfortable, well supported position.
Support their hands in a natural position using pillows or cushions.
Position yourself facing &/or side-on to them so that you can comfortably hold the hand without stretching either their arm or yourself.
Oil or creams are not essential but will help to give better massage by gliding over the skin & moisturising it - especially on dry, mature or fragile skin.
About 5mls oil (eg sweet almond) or a 10p size blob of lotion should be enough. Plain lotions such as Aqueous cream, Diprobase, E45 are fine. Or the person’s own hand cream - just try to avoid anything very highly perfumed on dry or sensitive skin.
But remember! If no oils/creams are readily available - don’t lose the moment by going off to search for them!
It’s useful to use a towel under the hands, to catch any surplus oil & to wrap the hand you’re not massaging – (but again, not essential if it means you losing the moment with that person).
Let the person know that they can talk if they want to, but that it may be best to just relax & be quiet, perhaps with their eyes closed. Try to avoid chatting to them during the massage if possible.
Techniques You Might Use
Below we give you suggestions for a routine, but remember there is no one set way to give a hand massage! You will adapt it to each person & each situation.
The important things are to:
Keep it comfortable for both of you.
Keep it at a gentle, even pressure (not deep, but not ticklish either)
Keep it at a slow, rhythmic, relaxing pace.
Suggested Routine for a Simple Hand Massage
Warm your hands & the oil first by placing it on your palm & rubbing your hands together.
Gently take hold of one hand & sandwich it between your palms, to warm it & to introduce your touch.
Back of Hand
Continue to support the hand resting on your palm whilst stroking the whole of the back of the hand, sweeping up from fingertips to wrist & sliding fingers slightly underneath on return.
Then support hand with both of yours - using your fingers underneath to support it, leaving your thumbs free to work on the back of the hand.
Wrists - gentle circles around the joints.
Back of hand - stroke across with sweeps of your thumbs.
Back of hand - small circles all over with your thumb.
Back of hand - stroke gently up the grooves between the bones.
Fingers - using one hand to support the palm, hold each finger & thumb in turn between your finger & thumb, & work down it from knuckle to fingertip with gentle circles.
Fingers - return to the finger or thumb you started with & with a very gentle squeeze, slide from the base of each finger/thumb to the tip. Do not pull on the fingers - you should not hear any joints clicking!
Sandwich the hand between yours again to gently turn it over.
Then repeat similar routine on palm of hand:
Stroke the whole area with a sweep from fingertips to wrist with your palm.
Wrists – gentle circles around joints.
Palm – stroke across with sweeps of your thumbs.
Palm – small circles all over with your thumb (especially into the fleshy pad of their thumb).
Palm – strokes in lines from bases of fingers up to wrist.
Fingers – as before, gentle circles down each, between your finger & thumb.
Fingers – as before, very gentle squeeze & slide down each one.
Stroke down whole area from wrist to fingertips with the flat of your palm, gently straightening fingers only as far as they go naturally & comfortably.
To finish:
Sandwich the hand as before to turn it over again - their palm resting down.
Stroke whole back of hand as at the start – (palm sweep from fingertips to wrist).
Gentle stroke as you replace the hand to rest in a comfortable position – cover it with yours for a few moments before breaking contact.
If possible, fold the towel over it to keep it warm whilst you massage the other hand.
Repeat same routine on the other hand.
Remember these are only suggestions! The main thing is to maintain a gentle, caring touch throughout, so that you will leave this person feeling calm, cared for, and relaxed.
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Touch & Simple Hand Massage