Conclusion
The massage method used in the studies reviewed above is not complicated
and anyone, including parents, can be trained to administer it. Touch interventions
are not only easy and inexpensive to implement, but they have been
shown to decrease hospitalization time and expense when used remedially
(Field et al., 2004c). Furthermore, it seems reasonable to infer that touch
could be a potent avenue for intervention in that tactile communication
is pervasive in several realms of social interaction (e.g breastfeeding and
soothing behaviors) and touch interventions are easier to learn to moderate
than are facial, verbal and other emotional behaviors on their own.