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

Abstract

BackgroundShiatsu, similar to acupressure, uses finger pressure, manipulations and stretches, along Traditional Chinese Medicine meridians. Shiatsu is popular in Europe, but lacks reviews on its evidence-base. MethodsAcupressure and Shiatsu clinical trials were identified using the MeSH term 'acupressure' in: EBM reviews; AMED; BNI; CINAHL; EMBASE; MEDLINE; PsycARTICLES; Science Direct; Blackwell Synergy; Ingenta Select; Wiley Interscience; Index to Theses and ZETOC. References of articles were checked. Inclusion criteria were Shiatsu or acupressure administered manually/bodily, published after January 1990. Two reviewers performed independent study selection and evaluation of study design and reporting, using standardised checklists (CONSORT, TREND, CASP and STRICTA).ResultsSearches identified 1714 publications. Final inclusions were 9 Shiatsu and 71 acupressure studies. A quarter were graded A (highest quality). Shiatsu studies comprised 1 RCT, three controlled non-randomised, one within-subjects, one observational and 3 uncontrolled studies investigating mental and physical health issues. Evidence was of insufficient quantity and quality. Acupressure studies included 2 meta-analyses, 6 systematic reviews and 39 RCTs. Strongest evidence was for pain (particularly dysmenorrhoea, lower back and labour), post-operative nausea and vomiting. Additionally quality evidence found improvements in sleep in institutionalised elderly. Variable/poor quality evidence existed for renal disease symptoms, dementia, stress, anxiety and respiratory conditions. Appraisal tools may be inappropriate for some study designs. Potential biases included focus on UK/USA databases, limited grey literature, and exclusion of qualitative and pre-1989 studies. ConclusionsEvidence is improving in quantity, quality and reporting, but more research is needed, particularly for Shiatsu, where evidence is poor. Acupressure may be beneficial for pain, nausea and vomiting and sleep.

Effect of self-acupressure for symptom management: A systematic review

“…Review of the full articles resulted in exclusion of an additional 15 studies. 3,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Studies were excluded because they did not report self-acupressure, did not directly compare acupressure and placebo/control, did not include extracted clinical outcomes, were duplicate studies, or were not original articles. At the end of the review process, 10 studies (eight RCTs and two quasi-RCTs) out of 793 articles were selected for inclusion in this review ( Figure 1).…”

Two Different Complementary Methods In The Treatment Of Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infection: Massage And Acupressure

“…Akupres, vücutta enerji taşıyan meridyenler üzerinde akupunktur noktalarına parmak, avuç içi veya özel stimülasyon bantlarıyla basınç uygulayarak, enerji kanallarının (kan dolaşımı gibi) düzgün çalışmasını sağlayan bir tedavi yöntemidir [25,26].…”

“…Chi enerjisi, bedenimizi aktif tutan yaşam enerjisidir ve yaşam enerjimizin kalitesi bizim mental, duyuşsal, fiziksel ve ruhsal/ manevi durumumuza bağlıdır. Chi tüm organ ve sistemlerin düzgün çalışmasını sağlayarak vücudumuzda bir denge oluşturur [26].…”

Zen Shiatsu: A Longitudinal Case Study Measuring Stress Reduction in a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Likewise, Shiatsu has the capabilities of addressing not only the physical body, but the emotional and spiritual well-being of the client. Zen Shiatsu has the potential to restore balance to the body while preventing the buildup of stress, including anxiety and depression (17) . Autism Spectrum Disorder is a multifaceted and complex disorder that has multiple causal elements and requires an integrative approach to treatment (18) .…”