Touch Vs Technology
Is one better?
The use of the newest extravagant & most flashy machine for therapy is very on-trend in our modern era, but this modality often lacks nuance & subtlety.
Meanwhile, muscle therapy involves a direct, hands-on approach to address an array of issues with a level of sensitivity suitable for working with the complex human body. At SMT, we believe touch is the most powerful tool available to help heal hurting.
A machine cannot feel & puts even more distance between patient & practicioner. Accuracy is deminished when the therapist cannot feel the body react to the treatment.
Additionally, studies show that touch signals safety & trust to our nervous systems causing a ripple effect. Touch calms cardiovascular stress, activates the vagus nerve & in return, releases the feel-good hormone, oxytocin. This reduces the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. A machine will not trigger this powerful hormone release & calming effect. Without their release, the body will hang onto toxins & slow progress/healing.
For the horses, touch also means trust. As fear-prone animals, often the machines can pose an issue with relaxation & subtlety. As sensitive beings, the ability able to adapt & adjust with the information the horse’s body provides to our fingertips offers the least-intrusive & delicate tactic. Truly, the simple touch is the most efficient & beneficial therapy for the array of issues.
SMT uses both science & compassion. We not only value the science behind the human & equine anatomy, but we also care enough to identify the issues & address them the correct way. This way our clients aren’t locked into life-time treatments. We want to solve your problems.
All that in mind, using moderate amounts of machine therapy in conjunction with muscle therapy can be beneficial for both the horse & human. But alone, machine therapy often just aids the problem instead of resolving it. A machine simply cannot replace the power, accuracy & sensitivity of human touch.
