Background: Urut Melayu, the traditional Malay massage, had been introduced into three pioneer hospitals in Malaysia, as part of the integrated hospital program. It was introduced primarily for the rehabilitation of poststroke patients. After almost 3 years since it was first implemented, there are currently plans to extend it to other hospitals in the country. Information from this study will contribute toward a better future implementation plan. Objectives: This study was conducted to gain an insight into the experiences and views of poststroke patients and their urut Melayu practitioners. Methods: A qualitative study design was adopted. A total of 17 semistructured in-depth interviews were carried out with poststroke patients who were undergoing urut Melayu treatment at one of the three integrated hospitals. Information was solicited from their accompanying caregivers whenever necessary. The 2 urut Melayu practitioners at the hospital were also interviewed. All the interviews were carried out in Malay by the authors, at the Traditional and Complementary Medicine unit of the relevant hospital. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded into categories through a constant-comparison method of data analysis. Illustrative quotations were identified to supplement the narrative descriptions of the themes. Results: It was found that urut Melayu was sought by patients who had experienced stroke brought about by hypertension and postdelivery complications. They reported the unique characteristics of urut Melayu and their positive experiences with it. Conclusions: Urut Melayu has potential as a complementary therapy for poststroke patients. It is recommended that the number of practitioners at the Traditional and Complementary Medicine unit be increased to provide the optimum care for poststroke patients.

Background: The case of a 32-year-old Malay woman who developed postpartum stroke is reported. Methods: The patient received a series of urut Melayu, the traditional Malay massage, sessions at one of the newly established integrated hospitals in the country. Results: After 14 urut Melayu sessions, she improved tremendously in her speech and fine motor skills and regained her activities of daily living. Conclusions: This use of urut Melayu to complement rehabilitation care in patients poststroke is promising.

Urut Melayu is a unique form of massage carried out for various purposes. Although it is common belief that there are vast differences in the way it is performed from one practitioner to another, this study revealed that similarities do exist and there is potential to develop a standard framework for urut Melayu for regulation and training purposes.