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Bio-Magnetics clinic provides just the right healing touch
By: Katherine Nichols
Honolulu Advertiser Staff Writer

Paul Bucky lightly placed his index and middle fingers at various points on my neck and back. I’ve been experiencing chronic hip pain. The tips of his fingers brush my skin in what is called a "butterfly-like touch."

The treatment room is professional but spartan, and though I’m feeling as relaxed as anyone receiving a facial or massage, there is no mistaking the locale for a spa. The small office is the Honolulu headquarters of Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing, and in the 10 years since the practice was established in Hawai‘i, the clinic has treated an estimated 40 to 50 patients each week.

Not to be confused with biomagnetic treatment or therapy, which uses tiny, specially designed magnets applied to the skin for a short time to heal various ailments, Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing practitioners use the fingers of both hands to touch and hold or even lightly stroke the skin of the subject in a series of two to eight specific locations on the body.

Each touch series comprises a set. There are 14 sets to choose from, depending on the health problem. For instance, on someone suffering from asthma, a practitioner would employ the "lung" set. A typical session lasts 20-30 minutes, with treatments administered one to three times per week. However, several practitioners reported they have seen results after one session.

Sallie Lau, a nutritionist, natural health consultant, ordained minister and Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing practitioner in Honolulu, admitted that when she first started implementing Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing into her practice, she didn’t notice immediate results. "But as I got better at it, I actually felt a tingling going on in the patient’s body," she said. "If someone was in great pain, my hands became warm and red, as though I was lifting off the pain. I can’t say it’s going to cure anything, but I know it does something with the body’s energy."

And most agree that such a gentle touch can’t hurt anything. The reason the practice does not need to be licensed is because it’s not invasive.

But how does Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing work?

Lau’s explanation is this: "Our touch doesn’t heal, it triggers the body to heal itself. My opinion is that my energy works with the patient’s energy."

"Every practitioner has an opinion," said Bucky, who is both a practitioner and president of the International Foundation of Bio-Magnetics. "Our main goal is not to start defining it, because if you do, you turn off certain parts of the community. We don’t talk about it religiously, artistically or scientifically. We’re trying to speak the language of all people just with touch, and let them define it how they want."

Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing also deviates from the healing touch program employed by the Queen’s Medical Center since 1991. The intention with all touch methods "is essentially the same," said Hob Osterlund, the clinical coordinator of pain management services at Queen’s, a nurse and certified healing touch practitioner. Though she was not familiar with the specifics of Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing, her experience with a variety of practices has shown her that the type of touch with each "may be a little different," and consequently defines the disparate methods.

Amazingly, in 10 years Bucky and his volunteer staff have not charged a single person for treatments. "It’s my service to society," said Bucky, who earned a bachelor of arts degree at San Diego State and survives by doing odd jobs like "washing cars and cleaning houses." The foundation subsists on donations and the fund-raising from classes and video sales (the initial 12-hour class to learn the system costs $48, and includes a manual and video set; certification requires more training). "It’s really an application of the Golden Rule, to love thy neighbor."

So who uses this method? Apparently, anybody looking for pain relief, and willing to reach beyond traditional medical therapy.

"If you believe complementary medicine works, it will work," said Dr. Ed Cadman, dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine. He plans to add an academic program in complementary alternative medicine to the medical school. UH has been approached by both Stanford and Harvard medical schools to collaborate on the development of this new department, which will focus on education and research. "Complementary medicine provides an opportunity for the individual to participate in his own healing. It can make people feel like they have control of their own disease."

Bucky welcomes this association with the scientific community. "Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing is something patients can do while working with standard medical practices; we’re not an alternative therapy," he said. "We’re not manipulating, we’re not doing assessments. We only work with the diagnoses people already have."

Dr. Neal Palafox, interim chairman of the department of Family Practice and Community Health at the Burns medical school, was not familiar with the details of the method, but recognizes its potential value. "I think physicians tend to be rushed," he said. "What’s lost in care is the touch of the physician, which has tremendous value. It acknowledges that the patient is feeling pain."

"If they do nothing else," said Cadman, "these techniques bring people hope."

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