An Overview of Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a Japanese massage based alternative medicine practice. It involves the application of pressure to the body of the patient using fingers, thumbs and palms. Similar to other therapies that use bodily manipulation, the purpose of massage in shiatsu is to stimulate the body by freeing blockages that prevent the qi from reaching affected areas.

Shiatsu combines the same knowledge used in acupuncture and other pressure based traditions with Western knowledge of physiology and anatomy in a non-invasive therapy that helps improve organ function and promotes physical well-being. It is a government regulated therapy that is part of the Japanese national health care system and has been since 1964. It is becoming more widely used in the United States as a treatment for:

Evidence for:
There has been research done on shiatsu and other pressure based body-massage therapies that suggests the following uses:

o Nausea, motion sickness
o Effective in controlling post-op nausea, motion sickness and morning sickness
Sleep
o Positive results in improving sleep quality in elderly and health adult patients
o Low back pain
o Relieves low back pain in several studies
o Postoperative pain
o Relieves post-operative pain nearly as effectively as intravenous pain medication
o Headache
o Self-administered acupressure may relieve or prevent migrains
o Bedwetting (in children)
o Parent administered micro massage at particular acupressure points showed to be effective in preventing bedwetting
o Weight loss, obesity
o May aid in weight loss
o Menstrual pain
o May reduce menstrual pain

Other preliminary research indicates that shiatsu may be beneficial in:

o Dyspnea (shortness of breath)
o Facial spasm
o Palliative care in progressive diseases
o Anxiety
o High blood pressure
o Depression
o Labor pain
o Asthma (quality of life)
o Sleep apnea
o Drug addiction

Criticisms
Vigorous shiatsu massage may cause some injuries, including nerve damage, bruising, and other adverse effects. Shiatsu may not be a suitable treatment for all people, and like most other alternative therapies, critics point out that despite the amount of research with positive results, much of it is in poorly designed studies that render the results less persuasive.

Conclusion
Shiatsu and other pressure based massage therapies offer promising relief for many medical conditions, particularly those related to stress. They seem to be most effective in controlling and/or reducing pain, and promoting well-being and health.