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Massage as therapy for persons with intellectual disabilities: a review of the literature
- Authors:
- CHAN Jenny Sau-Lai, TSE Sonny Hing-Min
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 15(1), March 2011, pp.47-62.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
People with intellectual disabilities are vulnerable to psychological stress and anxiety. When these cannot be vented adequately, behavioural problems may arise. To address this, massage therapy has frequently been applied to induce relaxation. This review investigated the efficacy of massage therapy on relaxation and reduction of challenging behaviours. A database search was conducted which uncovered a total of 64 articles, of which 7 met all inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated in terms of: number of participants; study setting; methodology; intervention pattern; outcome measure of the intervention; and major results. Findings revealed that evidence-based research demonstrating the effectiveness of massage therapy in supporting clinical practice is extremely limited. Case study designs, large amounts of qualitative data and small sample sizes meant that the therapeutic effect of massage therapy could not be substantiated. The authors concluded that future studies with randomised clinical trials or of experimental design are developed.