shiatsu
This post was inspired by a shiatsu-practitioner who recently commented on this blog. As I have not yet written a post about shiatsu, I think this might be a good occasion to do so. On one of the websites of the said practitioner – who claimed to have such amazing powers that he “would be locked up or worse“, if he made them public – explains that Shiatsu is a form of natural healing therapy that promotes health through finger pressure along energy meridians or channels – like acupuncture but with no needles and all your clothes on. Shiatsu is a combination of ancient theories of oriental medicine and ‘energy’, with modern knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Shiatsu originated in Japan where it is officially recognised and parents teach their children to treat them. Shiatsu is one of the fastest growing areas of complementary therapy in the UK. Shiatsu is safe and non-invasive. Shiatsu is a holistic therapy which means your whole body is treated. Work on your energy channels promotes well-being at the physical and emotional levels and stimulates your natural self-healing processes. The application of pressure and gentle stretching helps relieve muscle tension, joint stiffness and to realign body structures. Contact with the energy pathways helps to correct imbalance in the functioning of internal organs and to re-balance the effects of emotional disturbance. You don’t have to be ill to enjoy Shiatsu, many people enjoy it simply because it is deeply relaxing.
I also looked up another of his websites and found that he claims to treat the following conditions:
- Anger Management
- Anxiety and Stress
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Bipolar disorder
- Breathing/respiratory problems
- Cancer
- Confidence issues
- Depression
- Digestive Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Eczema
- Emotional Issues
- Fears and Phobias
- Headache
- Indigestion
- Infertility
- Insomnia
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Joint Pain
- Low energy/Lethargy
- Low Self-Esteem
- ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Migraine
- Muscular Tension
- Nausea and sickness
- Nightmares
- Obesity
- Pain
- Panic Attacks
- Sciatica
- Sexual problems
- Sinus problems
- Skin conditions
- Sleeping problems
- Social anxiety disorder
- Spiritual Issues
- Stiffness/Tension
- Weight problems
Impressed by this list, I looked at similar sites and found that such extravagant claims seem more the rule than the exception in the world of shiatsu. Such therapeutic claims came as a big surprise to me: the last time we reviewed the evidence, we had concluded: NO CONVINCING DATA AVAILABLE TO SUGGEST THAT SHIATSU IS EFFECTIVE FOR ANY CONDITION.
But that was 5 years ago; perhaps there have been major advances since? To find out, I did a quick Medline search and – BINGO! – found a recent systematic review entitled “The evidence for Shiatsu: a systematic review of Shiatsu and acupressure“. It was authored by proponents of this therapy and can therefore not be suspected to be riddled with ‘anti-shiatsu bias’ (I just love the give-away title THE EVIDENCE FOR SHIATSU….!). These authors found that “Shiatsu studies comprised 1 RCT, three controlled non-randomised, one within-subjects, one observational and 3 uncontrolled studies investigating mental and physical health issues. Evidence was of insufficient quantity and quality” The only RCT included in their review was not actually a study of shiatsu but of a complex mixture of treatments including shiatsu for back and neck pain. No significant effects compared to standard care were identified in this study.
So, what does that tell us about shiatsu? It clearly tells us that it is an unproven therapy. And what does that say about shiatsu-practitioners who make multiple claims about treating serious conditions? I think I can leave it to my readers to answer this question.
