Anma massage (Japanese massage) therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease in geriatric health services facilities: Effectiveness on limited range of motion of the shoulder joint.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of Anma massage therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in geriatric health services facilities. METHODS: (1) Immediate treatment effects: 10 PD patients, in the intervention period with Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scale at stage 5, received 30-40 min sessions of Anma massage therapy. In the non-intervention period, six PD patients did not undergo this therapy. The shoulder joint range of motion (ROM) was measured before and after each session. (2) Continuous treatment effects: Six PD patients in the intervention period received the same massage sessions once a week continuously for seven weeks. One week after the completion of the treatment, the ROM of the shoulder joints was measured. RESULTS: (1) Shoulder abduction on the more affected side showed immediate significant improvements. (2) Shoulder abduction on the more affected side and less affected side showed notable effects of continuous treatment procedure leading to significant improvement. CONCLUSION: The above results suggested the efficacy of successive Anma massage therapy.

Effectiveness of Anma massage therapy in alleviating physical symptoms in outpatients with Parkinson's disease: a before-after study.

We aimed to confirm the physical effects of a single Anma massage session and continuous Anma massage therapy for outpatients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-one PD outpatients (mean age, 64.43 ± 8.39 [SD] years; Hoehn and Yahr stage I-IV) received a single 40-min Anma massage session involving upper and lower limb exercises and some subsequently received seven weekly Anma massage sessions. After a single session, visual analogue scale scores were significantly lower for muscle stiffness, movement difficulties, pain, and fatigue; gait speed and pegboard test time were significantly shortened; stride length was significantly lengthened; and shoulder flexion and abduction were significantly improved. No significant changes occurred in controls. After continuous sessions, we found general improvements in the same outcomes. In conclusion, Anma massage might effectively alleviate various physical PD symptoms; furthermore, because it is given through clothing, Anma massage is accessible for PD patients with movement difficulties.