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. Dec' 2007

The Shiatsu Society are a member of the ESF (European Shiatsu Federation) and over the past 3 years we have contributed towards this european research project which has been carried out by Professor Andrew F Long, School of Healthcare of the University of Leeds.

The development of the study design took particular account of the fact that Shiatsu practice occurs within the energetic relationship 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.

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.

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

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 to be led by fellow committee member Elizabeth Davies using equipment developed by Biomonitors.

SHIATSU SOCIETY AT RESEARCH CONFERENCES

During 2006 the Shiatsu Society had representation at the following national and international research conferences:

Living The Field Conference: Icons Of The Field
18th & 19th March 2006
At this exciting international conference organized by Lynn McTaggart, author of “The Field”, we made contacts with researchers using direct energy measurement methods and finding novel ways of working with and measuring ki across a range of disciplines. More information.

ACHRN Conference 2006
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.

13th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health, Exeter
12th and 13th December 2006.
This international symposium, organised by Professor Edzard Ernst’s Complementary Medicine group in Exeter, is the longest running scientific meeting in its field. It is aimed at providing a forum for all individuals with a research interest in CAM. With an emphasis on original research it offers a unique opportunity to discuss key issues such as effectiveness, safety and costs in critical yet open-minded debate. 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:

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.

Conduct 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. Work in conjunction with the CCHIM and a variety of public sector organisations. Publish the results of these projects in peer-reviewed journals.

Initiate and continue experimental research in the measurement of brain waves and ki projection during Shiatsu sessions. Publish the results of this research.

Ensure that direct research on Shiatsu continues to be published in peer-reviewed journals.

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 following website is also very useful www.rccm.org.

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 is 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.

The research has now entered Phase Two where questionnaires specifically created from Phase One are returned by clients under a scientifically governed protocol to the research department headed by Professor Andrew F Long at Leeds University and the results should be available by the spring of 2007. This aspect of the research is designed to look more directly at the benefits of Shiatsu treatments and its long-term efficacy.

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 is now commissioning the next phase of the research programme. It is planned to begin this autumn. Professor Long of the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds will 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 will be cross European with fieldwork taking place in three countries: Austria, Spain and the UK. A tight and uniform research protocol will be followed in each country in order to maximise the validity of the findings and the external credibility of the research.

The first stage involves recruitment of a set of practitioners from each country’s national association. A random sample of Shiatsu practitioners will be drawn from the register and invited to take part in the study. Practitioners must 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 will be supported by the research team in terms of how clients are to be recruited into the study, ways to introduce the study to potential client participants and wider quality assurance procedures. It is anticipated that 600 clients per country will be recruited and about 40 practitioners in each country will be selected at random from those who are eligible. Thus, each participating practitioner will be asked to recruit up to 15 consecutive clients, some of whom will be ‘new’ clients (that is, never having received Shiatsu from the participating practitioner) and some ‘continuing’ clients. A target ratio of 1 new client to 2 continuing clients will be used, based on an estimate of current practice. The sequential sampling technique used will ensure that the sample selection is unbiased.

Each of the clients will be followed up for six months from their initial treatment session. The client will be 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, are 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 involves the client indicating their level of agreement with a particular statement or ticking the relevant box (see Box 1).

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

Concluding Comments

The planned study will extend the evidence base on the experience and effects of shiatsu on general health and well-being and provide a European perspective. Pursuing a tight research protocol and generating data based on a substantial sample of clients within each country will enable wider and confident generalisation of the results. The aim is 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