TITLE:
The Effects of Anma (Traditional Japanese Massage)—Randomised Trial
AUTHORS:
Hiroshi Kuge, Hidetoshi Mori, Tsunehiko Wada, Mayumi Watanabe, Tim Hideaki Tanaka, Eiichi Taniwaki, Tateyuki Morisawa
KEYWORDS:
Massage Therapy, Acupressure, Musculoskeletal Pain, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Muscle Blood Volume (MBV), Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), Anma, Katakori
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
18,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background and Objective: Anma
is a traditional Japanese bodywork therapy that has not been widely known and
used in the West. There have been only a few Anma studies published in English
journals. To study the effect of Anma (traditional Japanese massage) among
participants who have neck and shoulder stiffness symptoms (so-called Katakori,
in Japanese). Methods: The study participants consisted of seventy-seven
(Study 1), thirteen (Study 2), and twenty (Study 3) adults with “Katakori”
symptoms. The research design is as follows: (Study1) Randomized, Parallel-Group, Controlled
Trial. (Study 2) Crossover Clinical Trial.
(Study 3) Randomized, Parallel-Group, Controlled Trial. And we conducted
Anma treatment for 45 minutes (Treatment) or rest in lying position for 45
minutes (Control). Results: In study 1, the symptom of “Katakori” was relieved after Anma treatment in Anma group (p
d: 2.2). There was a significant
interaction between the Anma group and the control group (p Katakori” was relieved after Anma treatment in the treatment
group. There were no significant interactions between the groups in VAS and MBV
values. Discussion and Conclusions: The study demonstrated that Anma
therapy decreases “Katakori” symptoms while increasing MBV in the shoulder
region.