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Benefits of Shiatsu

Research on shiatsu has shown that it provides benefits relating to pain management, sleep quality, and managing depression.

Pain Relief

Shiatsu has been shown to help improve symptoms and quality of life for individuals with low back pain when combined with other treatments.1

Depression Management

When added to standard treatments, shiatsu significantly reduced depression in individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.2

Enhanced Sleep

Hand self-shiatsu has demonstrated positive effects on sleep efficiency, including better sleep depth, falling asleep more easily, and staying asleep longer in young people, veterans and their families, and athletes.3

Headache Relief

Shiatsu has been found to be more effective than amitriptyline in reducing the number of painkillers taken per month for those with chronic headaches.4

Fibromyalgia Management

Individuals with fibromyalgia had reduced pain intensity and improved pain symptoms when Shiatsu was used alongside standard medications instead of using medication alone.5

Shiatsu Safety

While more research is needed, shiatsu has had few reported side effects. The few reported include mild headaches, fatigue, and slight soreness after sessions.6

Fact Sheet

Shiatsu Benefits and Safety (PDF)

References

  1. Robinson, A. Lorenc, and X. Liao. "The evidence for Shiatsu: a systematic review of Shiatsu and acupressure," BMC complementary and alternative medicine 11, no. 88 (2011), https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-11-88; D. Kobayashi, T. Shimbo, H. Hayashi, and O. Takahashi, "Shiatsu for chronic lower back pain: Randomized controlled study," Complementary therapies in medicine 45 (August 2019): 33–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.019.
  2. Robinson, Lorenc, and Liao, "Evidence for Shiatsu"; Lanza et al., "Shiatsu as an adjuvant therapy for depression in patients with Alzheimer's disease: A pilot study," Complementary therapies in medicine 38 (June 2018): 74–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2018.04.013.
  3. A. Brown, G. Bostick, L. Bellmore, and D. Kumanayaka, "Hand self-Shiatsu for sleep problems in persons with chronic pain: a pilot study," Journal of integrative medicine 12, no. 2 (2014): 94–101, https://doi.org/10.1016/s2095-4964(14)60010-8; C. A. Brown, et al., "Effectiveness of Hand Self-Shiatsu to Promote Sleep in Young People with Chronic Pain: a Case Series Design," International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork 13, no. 4 (2020): 3–11, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7704041/; C. A. Brown, A. Rivard, L. Bellmore, M. Kane, M. R. Roberts, and Yuluan Wang, "Hand self-shiatsu to promote sleep among Veterans and their family members: A non-randomized, multiple-methods study," Journal of Military, Veteran & Family Health 7, no. 2 (2021): 50–60, https://doi.org/10.3138/jmvfh-2020-0054; P. Qin, B. D. Dick, A. Leung, and C. A. Brown, "Effectiveness of hand self-shiatsu to improve sleep following sport-related concussion in young athletes: a proof-of-concept study," Journal of integrative medicine 17, no. 1 (2019): 24–29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joim.2018.11.002.
  4. Villani, L. Prosperini, F. Palombini, F. Orzi, and G. Sette, (2017). "Single-blind, randomized, pilot study combining shiatsu and amitriptyline in refractory primary headaches," Neurological sciences: official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology 38, no. 6 (2017): 999–1007, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017- 2888-7.
  5. Robinson, Lorenc, and Liao, "The Evidence for Shiatsu"; S. L. Yuan, A. Berssaneti, and A. P. Marques, "Effects of shiatsu in the management of fibromyalgia symptoms: a controlled pilot study," Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics 36, no. 7 (2013): 436–443, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2013.05.019.
  6. Kobayashi et al., "Shiatsu for Back Pain," 33-37.