{"id":2186,"date":"2011-01-08T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-08T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/shaky-evidence-behind-massage-therapy-for-autism.html"},"modified":"2016-09-21T09:15:51","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T13:15:51","slug":"shaky-evidence-behind-massage-therapy-for-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2186","title":{"rendered":"Shaky evidence behind massage therapy for autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Massage has become a fairly popular alternative therapy for autism, but there is only limited evidence suggesting it is helpful, a new research review shows.<\/div>\n

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Researchers say some studies did find benefits — for instance in language and social skills — but small patient samples and other problems make the results unreliable.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disorders that, to varying degrees, hinder a person’s ability to communicate, socialize and build relationships.<\/span><\/div>\n

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There is no cure, but special education programs and behavioral and language therapies are standard. Often, parents also turn to alternative approaches for additional help, including special diets or art and music therapy.<\/span><\/div>\n

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In general, massage or “touch” therapy is thought to have both physical and emotional benefits. For children with autism, it could have effects on the nervous and hormonal systems that may help ease some of their difficulties, explained Dr. Myeong Soo Lee of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine in Daejeon, the lead researcher on the new study.<\/span><\/div>\n

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And parents seem to be putting some hope into that idea: Two recent U.S. studies of children with ASDs found that 11 percent to 16 percent had undergone massage therapy.<\/span><\/div>\n

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But whether it actually works is unclear.<\/span><\/div>\n

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In their search of the medical literature, Lee and his colleagues found only six clinical trials that tested massage therapy against standard therapies for children with autism.<\/span><\/div>\n

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There were some promising findings, Lee said. Children who received massage plus special education, for instance, improved their social abilities and “daily living” skills, like dressing and feeding themselves.<\/span><\/div>\n

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And those who had massage added to language therapy made bigger strides in communicating than those who had language therapy alone.<\/span><\/div>\n

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However, all of the studies had fundamental shortcomings, according to the researchers: None included more than 50 children and they lasted only between one and five months.<\/span><\/div>\n

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There were also problems in the studies’ methods that put them at a high risk of bias. In some cases, for example, the researchers assessing the children knew which ones had gotten massage therapy and which ones had not, so they might be more inclined to see progress in the former.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The bottom line, the researchers write, is that “firm conclusions cannot be drawn” as to whether massage therapy aids children with autism.<\/span><\/div>\n

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On the other hand, the researchers are not advising parents against finding a massage therapist with experience in working with children with autism.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span>If parents are interested in the therapy, Lee said, he knows of no serious potential risks of massage for children with autism. But as far as effectiveness, more rigorous studies are warranted, he and his colleagues write.<\/span><\/span>

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<\/span>Shaky evidence behind massage therapy for autism | Reuters<\/a><\/span>

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For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower’s website. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Massage has become a fairly popular alternative therapy for autism, but there is only limited evidence suggesting it is helpful, a new research review shows. Researchers say some studies did … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[399,400],"class_list":["post-2186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-autism","tag-massage"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-zg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2187,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2187","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":0},"title":"Fraud: Autism-vaccine researcher Nailed","author":"Will Clower","date":"January 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the-now disgraced British doctor who published studies linking vaccines with autism, committed an \"elaborate fraud\" by faking data, the British Medical Journal said on Wednesday.The journal's editors said it was not possible that Wakefield made a mistake but must have falsified the data for his study, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_HAl9r2q_-j0\/TShnXg64TMI\/AAAAAAAAC2w\/Q-EcHd0XJdI\/s320\/FraudSign.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2182,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2182","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":1},"title":"Recording of Saturday’s Radio Program","author":"Will Clower","date":"January 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you who were unable to make the Saturday radio program, I am going to post it here:Autism Fraud RevealedHow Science Can Undermine Our Culture of HealthFor more information: Click here to visit Will Clower's website.","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_HAl9r2q_-j0\/TSowwulYu1I\/AAAAAAAAC3E\/KA9-OMVjn20\/s320\/microphoneWoman.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5387,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=5387","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":2},"title":"What’s Better For Your Back? Yoga or Traditional Physical Therapy?","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Reuters Health) - Chronic lower back pain is equally likely to improve with yoga classes as with physical therapy, according to a new study. Twelve weeks of yoga lessened pain and improved function in people with low back pain as much as physical therapy sessions over the same period. \"Both\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=123","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":3},"title":"Garlic Soup","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's slip in some exercise while dinner is\u00a0cooking. While the soup is simmering do some stretches. Before you know it the soup will be done and your body will feel like it received an instant massage. You'll Need 1\/2 Cup garlic, peeled and minced 1 Tablespoon onion, chopped 2 Tablespoons\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipes"","block_context":{"text":"Recipes","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=380"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1903,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1903","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":4},"title":"Ask Will: Dissing Dairy","author":"Will Clower","date":"November 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Will,\u00a0Our son and daughter-in-law have informed us that based upon advice of co-workers in the medical profession, they will give our grandson almond milk rather than regular milk once he\u2019s off formula.\u00a0I may be old school, but I\u2019ve never heard of such a thing unless a child is allergic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Milk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2786,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2786","url_meta":{"origin":2186,"position":5},"title":"Hormone Replacement Therapy Redux","author":"Will Clower","date":"May 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"It's back. Even though articles like this one remind us that women who take HRT are at an increased risk of stroke, and your risk of this life-threatening event is not decreased if you are young or old, more articles are appearing that attempt to re-introduce this pharmaceutical. One company\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3182,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186\/revisions\/3182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}