Effects of Traditional Japanese Massage Therapy on Various Symptoms in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Case-Series Study

Objectives: Massage therapy is one of the most commonly used complementary therapies for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the effects of traditional Japanese massage therapy on various symptoms of patients with PD. Design: The study design was a case series study. Setting: The study was conducted at the Center for Integrative Medicine, Tsukuba University of Technology, Japan. Subjects: The subjects were 10 patients with idiopathic PD (mean age, 69.6 +/- 7.7 years; range, 55-85 years) who presented for consultation with a neurologist between February and April 2009 and who desired massage therapy in conjunction with standard pharmaceutical treatment. Intervention: The intervention comprised a 30-minute session of traditional Japanese massage in conjunction with standard conventional medication. Outcome measures: The outcome measures were as follows: Gait speed in the 20-m walk test (10-m walk and return) for gait disturbance, angular range of shoulder joint motion for frozen shoulder, and a visual analogue scale (VAS) for assessing the severity of each of various symptoms (hypophonia, shoulder stiffness, muscle pain, heaviness or lassitude of a body part, and fatigue), as determined before and after the massage session. Results: (1) Patients with gait disturbance showed improved gait speed, (2) those with frozen shoulder showed improved range of motion of the shoulder joint, and (3) VAS scores for assessing the severity of other subjective symptoms were improved. Conclusions: These results suggest that traditional Japanese massage therapy used in combination with medication is effective for alleviating various symptoms in patients with PD and may contribute to enhancing their health-related quality of life. Larger studies with a control group are required to verify these findings.