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Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques

BACKGROUND: Although shiatsu has been taught in specialized schools in Japan since 1940, there is a limited amount of research for its practice. As a result, authors substitute shiatsu with acupressure to use available research on acupressure. It is the position of the authors that, while the two sh...

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Autores principales: Cabo, Fernando, Baskwill, Amanda, Aguaristi, Isaac, Christophe-Tchakaloff, Slava, Guichard, Jean-Philippe
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Multimed Inc. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5988345/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29881477
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author Cabo, Fernando
Baskwill, Amanda
Aguaristi, Isaac
Christophe-Tchakaloff, Slava
Guichard, Jean-Philippe
author_facet Cabo, Fernando
Baskwill, Amanda
Aguaristi, Isaac
Christophe-Tchakaloff, Slava
Guichard, Jean-Philippe
author_sort Cabo, Fernando
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Although shiatsu has been taught in specialized schools in Japan since 1940, there is a limited amount of research for its practice. As a result, authors substitute shiatsu with acupressure to use available research on acupressure. It is the position of the authors that, while the two share common aspects, they are substantively different. This project was undertaken to describe technical differences and advocate for a clear distinction, especially in research studies and academic discussions. METHODS: To understand whether it is appropriate to include acupressure studies in the evidence for shiatsu an analysis of the references included in a frequently cited systematic review was conducted to collect information about the protocols. In addition, a preliminary exploration of shiatsu practitioners’ perceptions about the differences between shiatsu and acupressure is described. This exploration used videos of shiatsu and acupressure techniques and asked practitioners to comment on their perception of similarity. DISCUSSION: The results identified several key technical differences between the two, including type of pressure applied, the positioning of the thumb, and the way in which body weight is used. Researchers should separate shiatsu and acupressure in their designs and purposively choose one or the other. To facilitate such clarification, we have proposed a definition for shiatsu that may facilitate the differentiation between these two techniques. CONCLUSION: The authors hope to stimulate discussion about the differences between shiatsu and acupressure, and to question the appropriateness of using acupressure studies as evidence of the efficacy of shiatsu. A true understanding of the efficacy of shiatsu cannot be determined until studies use a common definition of shiatsu and discontinue substituting acupressure research for evidence of shiatsu efficacy. When this happens, it is proposed that a clearer picture of the safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action of both shiatsu and acupressure will emerge.
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spelling pubmed-59883452018-06-07 Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques Cabo, Fernando Baskwill, Amanda Aguaristi, Isaac Christophe-Tchakaloff, Slava Guichard, Jean-Philippe Int J Ther Massage Bodywork Research BACKGROUND: Although shiatsu has been taught in specialized schools in Japan since 1940, there is a limited amount of research for its practice. As a result, authors substitute shiatsu with acupressure to use available research on acupressure. It is the position of the authors that, while the two share common aspects, they are substantively different. This project was undertaken to describe technical differences and advocate for a clear distinction, especially in research studies and academic discussions. METHODS: To understand whether it is appropriate to include acupressure studies in the evidence for shiatsu an analysis of the references included in a frequently cited systematic review was conducted to collect information about the protocols. In addition, a preliminary exploration of shiatsu practitioners’ perceptions about the differences between shiatsu and acupressure is described. This exploration used videos of shiatsu and acupressure techniques and asked practitioners to comment on their perception of similarity. DISCUSSION: The results identified several key technical differences between the two, including type of pressure applied, the positioning of the thumb, and the way in which body weight is used. Researchers should separate shiatsu and acupressure in their designs and purposively choose one or the other. To facilitate such clarification, we have proposed a definition for shiatsu that may facilitate the differentiation between these two techniques. CONCLUSION: The authors hope to stimulate discussion about the differences between shiatsu and acupressure, and to question the appropriateness of using acupressure studies as evidence of the efficacy of shiatsu. A true understanding of the efficacy of shiatsu cannot be determined until studies use a common definition of shiatsu and discontinue substituting acupressure research for evidence of shiatsu efficacy. When this happens, it is proposed that a clearer picture of the safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action of both shiatsu and acupressure will emerge. Multimed Inc. 2018-06-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5988345/ /pubmed/29881477 Text en Copyright© The Author(s) 2018. Published by the Massage Therapy Foundation. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/Published under the CreativeCommons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) .
spellingShingle Research
Cabo, Fernando
Baskwill, Amanda
Aguaristi, Isaac
Christophe-Tchakaloff, Slava
Guichard, Jean-Philippe
Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title_full Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title_fullStr Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title_full_unstemmed Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title_short Shiatsu and Acupressure: Two Different and Distinct Techniques
title_sort shiatsu and acupressure: two different and distinct techniques
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5988345/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29881477
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