The Effects of Shiatsu on Lower Back Pain

Abstract

Shiatsu, a specific type of massage, was used as an intervention in this study of 66 individuals complaining of lower back pain. Each individual was measured on state/trait anxiety and pain level before and after four shiatsu treatments. Each subject was then called 2 days following each treatment and asked to quantify the level of pain. Both pain and anxiety decreased significantly over time. Extraneous variables such as gender, age, gender of therapist, length of history with lower back pain, and medications taken for lower back pain did not alter the significant results. These subjects would recommend shiatsu massage for others suffering from lower back pain and indicated the treatments decreased the major inconveniences they experienced with their lower back pain.

The Effectiveness of Shiatsu: Findings from a Cross-European, Prospective Observational Study

“…Previous research has either had a narrower focus on what practitioners treat, 11 the provision of exploratory, interview-based evidence on effects, 7 or, in a few instances, examined the relative effectiveness of shiatsu for treating a particular condition. 4,12,13 The results from the three countries demonstrate a set of interconnected and consistent evidence of client-perceived, beneficial effects in the short and longer term, as measured by changes in symptom severity and health care use, shiatsu-specific measures, the uptake of advice, meeting expectations, and satisfaction. The study also provides supportive evidence for the safety of shiatsu, documenting only a very small number of client-perceived negative responses that could be interpreted as adverse events.…”

The evidence for Shiatsu: a systematic review of Shiatsu and acupressure

“…Lichtenberg et al's [27] pilot study of Shiatsu for schizophrenia showed significant improvements on scales relating to illness, psychopathy, anxiety, depression and others (p values ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0192). Brady et al [26] tested Shiatsu for lower back pain in 66 volunteers. Pain and anxiety significantly decreased after treatment (p < 0.001), which did not change when demographic variables were controlled for.…”

Exploring Nurses' Perceived Benefits of Utilizing Holistic Modalities for Self and Clients

“…Holistic nurses use a variety of modalities in the healing process. There are numerous studies that focus on the effects of holistic modalities, such as therapeutic touch, 7 progressive muscle relaxation, 8 shiatsu, 9 prayer, 10 guided imagery, 11 and spirituality, 12 yet there are a few studies of the holistic nurses' perspective on the use of these modalities. [13][14][15][16][17][18] To ground the clinician with the concepts of holistic nursing, of being one with self and others, the AHNA developed the Standards of Holistic Nursing Practice to define and establish the scope of holistic nursing and the expected level of care.…”