Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2010 Dec;25(8):680-6.
doi: 10.1177/1533317510386215.

Physical and psychological effects of 6-week tactile massage on elderly patients with severe dementia

Mizue Suzuki  1 , Asami Tatsumi, Toshiko Otsuka, Keiko Kikuchi, Akiko Mizuta, Kimiko Makino, Akie Kimoto, Kiyoe Fujiwara, Toshihiko Abe, Toshihiro Nakagomi, Tatsuya Hayashi, Takayuki Saruhara
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Physical and psychological effects of 6-week tactile massage on elderly patients with severe dementia

Mizue Suzuki et al. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2010 Dec.

Abstract

Tactile massage is a soft massage that improves physical relaxation and psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of a 6-week tactile massage on changes in physical and mental function, symptoms of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among elderly patients with dementia. In addition, chromogranin A (CgA) levels as an index of stress examined the effects of tactile massage intervention. A tactile massage group consisting of elderly patients with dementia received tactile massage therapy a total of 30 times each for about 20 minutes between 16:00 and 17:00 hours. In the control group, the mean scores for ''intellectual'' and ''emotional function'' score decreased significantly after 6 weeks (P < .05); however, no change was observed in the tactile massage group. Both the ''aggressiveness'' score (P < .05) and CgA levels decreased significantly after 6 weeks in the tactile massage group. These results suggest that tactile massage reduces aggressiveness and stress level in patients with dementia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Japanese cabinet. 2007. Elderly White Book. Tokyo, Japan: Gyosei; ; 2006.
    1. Alzheimer’s Disease International. Dementia in the Asia Pacific region-Japanese. http://www.alz.co.uk/research/asiapacificreport.html, London (6.10. 2010).
    1. International Psychogeriatric Association. The BPSD Educational Pack; 1998.
    1. Suzuki M., Kanamori M., Watanabe M., et al. Behavioral and endocrinological evaluation of music therapy for elderly patients with dementia. Nurs Health Sci. 2004;6(1):11-18. - PubMed
    1. Suzuki M., Kanamori M., Nagasawa S., Isowa T., Saruhara T. Music therapy-induced changes in behavioral evaluations, and saliva chromogranin a and immunoglobulin a concentrations in elderly patients with senile dementia . Gerontol Geriatr Int. 2007;7(1): 61-71.