The Effects and Experience of Shiatsu: a Cross-European Study
European Shiatsu Federation
Shiatsu, a Japanese healing technique with roots in Chinese philosophy and medicine, is now practised in many European countries. It aims to restore and maintain life energy balance through the application of pressure to the body's energy channels and points via hands and thumbs.
The research base of shiatsu in the West is at an early stage of development. There is an urgent need for more information on the benefits experienced by users and safety aspects, in particular, negative response to treatment. The current study built on an earlier two-country, interview-based study, funded by the European Shiatsu Federation, which explored client and practitioner views of the experience and effects of shiatsu (Mackay and Long 2003; Long and Mackay 2004).
The research had two aims:
1) Assess the client's experience and perceptions of short and longer-term, positive and negative effects of shiatsu, and ongoing effects over time
2) Find out about the age, gender and other characteristics of shiatsu practitioners participating in the client recruitment, features of their practice and possible practitioner variation in practice style.
The study took the form of a questionnaire-based, longitudinal and cohort study. It was undertaken in three countries: Austria, Spain and the UK. Eighty-five practitioners were involved in client recruitment. All the practitioners were registered with the respective shiatsu association (Österreichischen Dachverband für Shiatsu (Austria), Asociación de Profesionales de Shiatsu en España (Spain) or the Shiatsu Society (UK)) and saw, on average, around 20 clients per month. A total of 948 clients took part in the three-country European study. Of these, 633 completed all four of the study's questionnaires, from baseline to six-month follow-up, a response rate of 67%. The project was completed at the end of 2007.
The Full Report is available to download here
The Executive Summary is available to download here
The Practitioner Report is available to download here
References:
Mackay H, 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. HCPRDU Report Series Number 9.
Long AF and Mackay HC (2003) The effects of shiatsu: findings from a two-country exploration study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 9: 539-547.
Research Team: Professor Andrew Long, Lisa Esmonde, Rosa Mas Giralt and Ruth Allcroft (School of Healthcare, University of Leeds)
E-mail: a.f.long@leeds.ac.uk , r.allcroft@leeds.ac.uk
