title: Report on disaster medical operations with acupuncture/massage therapy after the great East Japan earthquake.
abstract: The Great East Japan Earthquake inflicted immense damage over a wide area of eastern Japan with the consequent tsunami. Department of Traditional Asian Medicine, Tohoku University, started providing medical assistance to the disaster-stricken regions mainly employing traditional Asian therapies.We visited seven evacuation centers in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefecture and provided acupuncture/massage therapy. While massage therapy was performed manually, filiform needles and press tack needles were used to administer acupuncture. In total, 553 people were treated (mean age, 54.0 years; 206 men, 347 women). Assessment by interview showed that the most common complaint was shoulder/back stiffness. The rate of therapy satisfaction was 92.3%. Many people answered that they experienced not only physical but also psychological relief.At the time of the disaster, acupuncture/massage therapy, which has both mental and physical soothing effects, may be a therapeutic approach that can be effectively used in combination with Western medical practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Asian Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Tetsuharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Ayane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Yasutake
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Monma
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kusuyama
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yaegashi