Report on a membership audit of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Reflex Therapy (ACPIRT)

Reflex Therapy (RT), akin to reflexology, is a non-invasive physiotherapy modality approved by the UK Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. One hundred members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Reflex Therapy (ACPIRT) participated in an audit to establish a baseline of practice. Findings indicate that experienced therapists use RT in conjunction with their professional skills to induce relaxation (95%) and reduce pain (86%) for patients with conditions including whiplash injury and chronic pain. According to 68% of respondents, RT is “very good,” “good” or “as good as” orthodox physiotherapy practices. Requiring minimal equipment, RT may be as cost effective as orthodox physiotherapy with regards to duration and frequency of treatment.     

Efficacy and safety of massage therapy for autism spectrum disorders: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing incidence. At present, the global incidence of the disease is on the rise, and the cause is unknown. There is no specific treatment for this disease at present, mainly education and training. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment has a certain effect on the improvement of the symptoms of the disease. The treatment methods are mainly oral Chinese medicine and acupuncture, but children are often not easy to cooperate. As a safe and effective green therapy, massage is easy to be accepted by children.MethodsWe will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy in treating autism spectrum disorders: Wanfang and PubMed Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Excerpta Medica database. Each database will be searched from inception to March 2021. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses.ResultsThis proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with autism spectrum disorders. The outcomes will include changes in autism spectrum disorder relief and adverse effect.ConclusionThis proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with autism spectrum disorders.Dissemination and ethicsThe results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis have been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process.     

The effect of foot reflexology and back massage on hemodialysis patients' fatigue and sleep quality

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of foot reflexology and back massage on optimizing the sleep quality and reducing the fatigue of hemodialysis patients.MethodsThe study includes 105 volunteer patients who were registered at a private dialysis clinic and were receiving hemodialysis treatment. Foot reflexology and back massage were administered to the patients two times a week for four weeks. The Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index were used to collect data.ResultsThe differences between the pretest and posttest score averages of the patients on the Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index were statistically significant (p < 0.001).ConclusionFoot reflexology and back massage were shown to improve the sleep quality and reduce the fatigue of hemodialysis patients. Compared to back massage, foot reflexology was determined to be more effective.     

刮痧联合穴位按摩治疗不安腿综合征所致失眠临床研究

目的:观察刮痧联合穴位按摩治疗不安腿综合征所致失眠的临床效果。方法:选取2009年4月—2012年4月本院收治的不安腿综合征所致失眠患者24例,所有患者均符合失眠诊断标准,随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组12例。治疗组给予刮痧联合穴位按摩治疗,对照组给予艾司唑仑片口服治疗。结果:治疗组有效率为98%,对照组有效率为65%,治疗组优于对照组(P0.05)。结论:刮痧联合穴位按摩治疗不安腿综合征所致失眠疗效显著。     

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.     

穴位按摩配合中药熏洗治疗中风半身不遂的效果观察及护理

目的：探讨穴位按摩配合中药熏洗治疗中风半身不遂的临床效果。方法将中风后半身不遂的患者84例分为两组，对照组采样常规治疗；观察组在常规治疗的基础上，采用中药熏洗配合穴位按摩治疗，2个疗程后对患者肌力、关节活动度进行对比。结果观察组肌力改善总有效率为83．3％，关节活动度改善总有效率77．15％，对照组肌力改善总有效率为58．3％，关节活动度改善总有效率55．5％，两组比较差异有显著意义（ P＜0．05）。结论穴位按摩配合中药熏洗治疗中风病半身不遂临床效果优于单纯的药物治疗。     

探讨食用南瓜蜂蜜糊结合四肢按摩预防保胎孕妇便秘的应用

目的：探讨预防保胎孕妇住院期间的常见并发症之一---便秘。方法：对照组患者常规预防便秘及护理；观察组在常规预防便秘及护理的基础上，吃南瓜蜂蜜糊结合四肢按摩预防保胎孕妇便秘。结果：对照组50例患者发生了便秘15人次，观察组50例患者发生了便秘3人次，明显减少了患者便秘带来的痛苦。结论：通过吃南瓜蜂蜜糊结合四肢按摩预防保胎孕妇便秘效果显著，值得临床推广应用。     

中西医结合治疗脑卒中后痉挛性瘫痪临床研究进展

中医治疗脑卒中后痉挛性瘫痪主要包括针刺疗法、灸法、推拿疗法、中药疗法等,其中,针刺疗法主要包括夹脊穴针刺法、头针疗法、电针疗法、运动针法、巨刺疗法、靳三针法、肌肉起止点针刺法、泻阴经补阳经刺法、特殊针具刺法等;中药疗法主要包括中药内服和中药熏洗等。西医治疗脑卒中后痉挛性瘫痪主要包括A型肉毒素治疗、手术疗法、康复疗法等。目前,临床多以西医疗法作为脑卒中后痉挛性瘫痪患者的常规疗法,在此基础上采取中医治疗等。中西医研究均存在样本量少、患者来源单一、研究过程中干扰因素过多等问题。今后,应扩大样本量,控制干扰因素,制定科学统一的研究方案,明确中医治疗脑卒中后痉挛性瘫痪的疗效机制,为中医治疗该病提供科学依据。