Developing fluency in a language of tactile communication.
Neil Tuttle, Susan Hillier
PMID 36712783WHAT IT FOUND
This paper proposes a theoretical framework for viewing physiotherapy touch as a two-way conversation rather than a passive technique.
It offers no clinical data, trials, or outcomes, so it provides no evidence to support or refute any treatment effects.
What this paper is
This is a narrative review and theoretical commentary proposing a framework for tactile communication in physiotherapy. It discusses concepts like embodied enaction and shared intentionality, and offers suggestions for teaching students, but it reports no original data, methods, results, or clinical outcomes. There is no finding here to change your practice on.
What it does not show
The paper is a theoretical narrative and opinion piece, not an empirical study. It reports no data, patient outcomes, or validation of the proposed tactile communication models. Claims about the efficacy of touch as an active therapeutic tool are based on author perspective and biological rationale, not clinical trial results.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the authors' theoretical arguments about touch as evidence that manual therapy produces specific clinical outcomes. The paper proposes a way to think about and teach touch, but it reports no data showing that this approach works.