title: Effectiveness of Anma massage therapy in alleviating physical symptoms in outpatients with Parkinson's disease: a before-after study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Course of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan. Electronic address: donoyama@k.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Nozomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donoyama
authors.affiliation: Course of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan. Electronic address: suoh@k.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Sachie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suoh
authors.affiliation: Course of Neurology, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan. Electronic address: ohkoshin@k.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohkoshi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D065187:Controlled Before-After Studies; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Anma massage therapy; Gait performance; Parkinson's disease; Subjective complaints; Upper limb function