Research overview

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Research

The Shiatsu Society is currently undertaking many research projects.

The Effects and Experience of Shiatsu: A Cross-European Study was completed in 2008

The Shiatsu Society is currently involved in disseminating information about recent exciting research findings and planning to follow this up with the European Shiatsu Federation and other agencies.

A launch was held on 24/09/09 at the University of Westminster. Visit the Downloads page for a press release and copies of the presentations that were given that day.

The development of the study design took particular account of the fact that Shiatsu practice occurs between the practitioner and the client, that it is intuitive in nature, and that it is broad in its guiding philosophy and scope of application. The findings summarised below speak volumes about this ancient art. They validate an intuitive but practical system with contemporary and rational tools, bridging longstanding cultural gaps. These findings are now offered in service to the public, the profession, researchers, policy makers and health care providers.

Economic Implications; A reduction in physician/hospital visits over time alongside a reduction in use of conventional medication was evident.

Sympton Changes; A statistically significant reduction in sympton severity was found for all of the symptom groups.

RESULTS: Visit the Downloads page to view the results and download leaflets.

The report on the European Shiatsu Federation Research Project (phase 2) can also be downloaded from the research section of the downloads page.

We are pleased to announce we have a published article from the ESF research project that can now be accessed by anybody for free. It is available on the BioMedCentral online journal at the folowing link : http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/9/19

Clinical Trials

Visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for details of current trials being carried out for Shiatsu.

The Systematic Evidence Review

1) The Systematic Evidence Review for Shiatsu has now been published. This Review was commissioned by the Shiatsu Society from the Centre for Complementary Healthcare and Integrated Medicine at Thames Valley University.

The Review critically appraises 5 scientific trials of Shiatsu and 41 trials of Acupressure, and details over 200 other trials in its appendices.

The Shiatsu studies provide very limited evidence on a diverse range of health issues (angina, low back pain, fibromyalgia, chemotherapy side effects/anxiety and inducing labour).

Studies on acupressure provided fairly strong evidence for its use in the treatment of pain. Evidence for acupressure for nausea and vomiting was inconsistent, with the strongest evidence for post-operative nausea. Weak evidence for renal symptoms and COPD/asthma was found. The remaining acupressure studies provided evidence of variable quality on psycho-social health issues and consciousness/anaesthesia.

There are 2 versions of the report, a brief version of this review without appendices and the whole version of this review with appendices. Both can be downloaded from the research section of the downloads page.

SHIATSU RESEARCH - BENEFITS IN A GP SURGERY

‘The Impact of Delivering Shiatsu in a General Practice’ by Dr. Zoe Pirie

Between 1999 and 2003 Zoe conducted a PhD research study on the integration of a complementary medicine clinic in the National Health Service (NHS). It described the impact of delivering Shiatsu on an inner-city general practice, its GPs, patients and the Shiatsu practitioner. Visit the downloads page to read more and see how the patients benefited and the GP's saved money.

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF KI PROJECTION

The Shiatsu Society is very keen to initiate experimental research on Ki projection and changes in brainwaves during Shiatsu sessions. Pending funds, this Research project will be led by fellow committee member Elizabeth Davies using equipment developed by Biomonitors.

A full research project, using the Mind Mirror, has now been completed by Michael Boyd,MRSS. The full dissertation can be downloaded from the research downloads.

SHIATSU SOCIETY AT RESEARCH CONFERENCES

During 2009 the Shiatsu Society had representation at the following national research conference:

ACHRN Conference 2009
Established in 1996 by a group of academic social scientists and health researchers located within multiple UK institutions, ACHRN aims to provide a forum for members to present their research, and to stimulate debate and dialogue on critical research issues in the wider alternative medicine community. This conference was a useful networking event and should help to stimulate Shiatsu Society thinking on further research. More information.

SHIATSU SOCIETY RESEARCH 5-YEAR PLAN

This plan will change and shift, particularly in the direction of defining how research can work with other areas of Shiatsu Society work, particularly marketing:

We aim to make the results of research on Shiatsu worldwide available to members of the Shiatsu Society via an independently collated and updateable research resource on the Shiatsu Society website.

We will look at the possibilities of conducting a series of research projects relating to the contribution of Shiatsu to integrated health care in the public and voluntary sector in the treatment of specific conditions. In this case, we would work in conjunction with the CCHIM (The Centre for Complementary Healthcare and Integrated Medicine) and a variety of public sector organisations and publish the results of these projects in peer-reviewed journals.

We aim to initiate and continue experimental research in the measurement of brain waves and ki projection during Shiatsu sessions and publish the results of this research.

We hope to be able to ensure that direct research on Shiatsu continues to be published in peer-reviewed journals.

We regularly make useful summaries of research available for external marketing purposes within the Shiatsu Society.

Research Paper Downloads

There are a number of research-related documents on the downloads page.

The Journal of Shiatsu and Oriental Body Therapy

The Journal of Shiatsu and Oriental Body Therapy was created by Bill Palmer in 1994 to be a professional journal, publishing high quality articles and research in the field. It was published twice a year and had a circulation of over 2000 people worldwide. The last issue was published in 1998.

All of the issues can now be read online and downloaded if you wish. If you want to read a back issue, click here.

A Bigger Picture - Shiatsu in Europe

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The Effects and Experiences of Shiatsu: a Cross-European Study

The aim of the European Shiatsu Federation (ESF) Research Project was to scientifically document the ‘experience and effects of Shiatsu as experienced by both receiver and practitioner’. This is a unique Shiatsu research foundation study that has never been done before. Phase One was a two country exploratory study into ‘The Experience and Effects of Shiatsu’ and was an open-ended interview based study undertaken in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Phase Two has now been completed. In this, questionnaires were specifically created from Phase One and returned by clients under a scientifically governed protocol to the Research Department headed by Professor Andrew F. Long at the University of Leeds and the results can now be seen on our Downloads page.

What follows is an overview of the project by Professor Long, Health Systems Research University of Leeds

The first phase of the research project and the Executive Summary of the Findings can be viewed on the ESF website. The report on the second phase can be downloaded here

Introduction

In 2001, the European Shiatsu Foundation funded a one-year, two-country, exploratory study to uncover client and practitioner views of the experience and effects of Shiatsu. The plan was that this study would form the first phase of a larger research programme aimed at enhancing the evidence base for Shiatsu. The study, undertaken by the Health Care Practice R&D Unit at the University of Salford, involved field work in the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany. Through a series of interviews with a sample of Shiatsu practitioners and clients, a wide range of common, immediate and longer-term effects was identified. (Mackay and Long 2003; Long and Mackay 2003). These included not only effects on initial symptoms but also areas such as relaxation, sleeping, posture and experiences of the body. Both clients and practitioners drew attention to the importance of their relationship and working together. Although clients described few negative effects a set of transitional effects was also identified, which included both a negative and positive component.

The exploratory research pointed to the need for further research, with larger numbers, both new and continuing Shiatsu users, in more countries, and undertaken through a longitudinal study design. The findings provided the basis for the development of a set of questions on experiences and effects, grounded in client and practitioner views, thus, enabling measurement of the most appropriate outcomes from the client’s and the CAM discipline’s perspective.

Phase Two

With the generation of further research funds, the European Shiatsu Federation commissioned the next phase of the research programme. Professor Long of the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds lead the study. The study builds on the work already carried out with the aim of assessing the client’s experience of Shiatsu and positive and negative effects, over the short and longer term, and the maintenance of any effects over time. The study was cross European with fieldwork taking place in three countries: Austria, Spain and the UK. A tight and uniform research protocol was followed in each country in order to maximise the validity of the findings and the external credibility of the research.

The first stage involved recruitment of a set of practitioners from each country’s national association. A random sample of Shiatsu practitioners was drawn from the register and invited to take part in the study. Practitioners all had to have a minimum of two years practice post accreditation and see a minimum of five clients per week. Having given their consent to take part in the study, the practitioners were supported by the research team in terms of how clients were to be recruited into the study, ways to introduce the study to potential client participants and wider quality assurance procedures. The sequential sampling technique was used to ensure that the sample selection was unbiased.

Each of the clients was followed up for six months from their initial treatment session. The client was asked to complete a short questionnaire at four occasions: at initial recruitment, 3-4 days after the first treatment, and 3 and 6 months later. The questionnaires, translated into the relevant language, were those developed during the earlier exploratory study. Topics covered include such areas as: reasons for seeking Shiatsu, initial expectations, experience of the Shiatsu sessions, comments on the client-practitioner interaction and initial and longer-term effects on presenting reasons and general well-being. In the vast majority, each question involved the client indicating their level of agreement with a particular statement or ticking the relevant box (see Box 1).

Once the client had agreed to take part in the study, the practitioner gave the client a consent form, the initial ‘first visit’ questionnaire and the ‘immediate effects’ questionnaire, together with a brief instruction sheet. The client then returned the signed consent form and completed questionnaires to the University of Leeds for processing. The ‘three-month effects’ and ‘six-month effects’ questionnaires were sent out from Leeds direct to the client. Thus, once the client was recruited, the practitioner had no further link into the research process; she/he just treated the client as normal.

Concluding Comments

The study extends the evidence base on the experience and effects of Shiatsu on general health and well-being and provides a European perspective. Pursuing a tight research protocol and generating data based on a substantial sample of clients within each country enabled wider and confident generalisation of the results. The aim was to provide a high quality foundation for the wider recognition of Shiatsu and a basis for future research exploring the relative effectiveness of Shiatsu to other CAM modalities, for example, acupuncture or aromatherapy massage, and/or conventional medicine in the promotion of health and well-being.

References

Long AF and Mackay H (2003) The effects of shiatsu: findings from a two-country exploratory study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 9 (4): 539-548.
Mackay H and Long AF (2003) The Experience and Effects of Shiatsu: Findings from a Two Country Exploratory Study. Salford: University of Salford, Health Care Practice R&D Unit. Report No. 9.

Research Relevant to Conditions

The following is all the information we hold on Shiatsu and certain conditions consisting of research, general information, case studies and letters of success.

Shiatsu Society

Shiatsu - a World of Human Touch