Lifetime use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies among community-dwelling older people in Japan.
Yosuke Shibata, Mieko Nakamura, Hideko Nakamura and 2 others
PMID 32753781WHAT IT FOUND
Nearly half of older Japanese men and nearly six in ten women have used at least one of three insurance-covered manual therapies.
Judo therapy was the most common, used by 44.5% of women and 28.0% of men. These therapies are a standard part of care, not rare alternatives.
Key findings
01Lifetime use of any of the three therapies was 42.9% in men and 57.6% in women.
02Judo therapy was the most frequently used therapy, with lifetime prevalence of 44.5% in women and 28.0% in men.
03Acupuncture and moxibustion use was similar between sexes (17.8% men, 18.4% women), while massage and finger pressure was more common in women (27.3%) than men (15.8%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
All data relied on self-report, so participants had to remember and accurately classify past treatments. The questionnaire combined Japanese traditional massage and finger pressure with chiropractic and seitai, so you cannot tell which specific manual therapy participants received. The study was conducted in a single suburban city in Shizuoka Prefecture, so the rates may not match other regions in Japan. The survey measured whether people used the therapies, not whether they helped or harmed. Family members completed questionnaires for some participants, which may have affected accuracy of the treatment history.
Declared interests
The research was part of a larger survey on social participation and health, supported by a grant from the Fujinokuni-consortium. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these high prevalence rates as evidence that these therapies are effective or recommended. The study only counted how many people had ever used them. It did not test whether they improved health, and it did not compare them to any other treatment.