Several years ago a 10 yr old boy came to my clinic struggling greatly with touch defensiveness. Everything that touched his skin seemed to create a pain response, or an "icky" feeling. He was also quite limited in food taste and texture tolerances.
At the time, I tried all the sensory-based strategies I knew: deep pressure brushing, heavy work proprioception, vestibular-tactile input, pressure clothing, weighted clothing. I exhausted all my tools on my tool belt. I don't even remember why I tried lymphatic massage but I'm sure it was out of desperation to help him find relief.
AND IT DID. He came back one week after a single treatment and said, "Of all the things you did, that was the only thing that made my skin feel better."
What I learned from this young man, I began to apply to every person with sensory wellness challenges to their skin....and got similar results.
Now we have some science of damage or injury to C-fiber sensory cells in the epidermis related to Tactile Defensiveness (based on neurology skin biposy testing). C fibers are the gate-keepers to the autonomic nervous system (fight-flight) within the skin.
If damaged, wouldn't that keep the skin in a state of sympathetic responsiveness? This article is several years old, with more studies following to suggest that Touch Defensiveness is peripheral neuropathy caused by [unknown] inflammatory agents.
We might need to rethink our viewpoints on sensory integration theories and the anatomy of the sensory systems.
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