Correction: Cabo F, et al. Similarities and Differences in East Asian Massage and Bodywork Therapies: A Critical Review. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2020; 5: 17

Fernando Cabo ^{1, *}, Isaac Aguaristi ²

1. Barts Health NHS Trust, Margaret Centre, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Leytonstone, London, E11 1NR, United Kingdom

2. Professional Shiatsu School

* Correspondence: Fernando Cabo

Academic Editor: Gerhard Litscher

Received: March 30, 2020 | Accepted: March 30, 2020 | Published: April 02, 2020

OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2020, Volume 5, Issue 2, doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2002018

Recommended citation: Cabo F, Aguaristi I. Correction: Cabo F, et al. Similarities and Differences in East Asian Massage and Bodywork Therapies: A Critical Review. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2020; 5: 17. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2020; 5(2): 018; doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2002018.

The Original Article was published on 05 March 2020.

© 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.

The authors wish to make the following correction to the paper [1]. Replace:

3.1.6 Watsu

Theoretical principles and techniques. The name watsu is an abbreviation of water shiatsu. The name was coined by Harold Dull, a shiatsu therapist, who created and developed the therapy [78]. Watsu is purported to be based on the principles of Zen Shiatsu, the shiatsu style developed by Masunaga, and to be the application of shiatsu on water. It is included as a style of shiatsu by some associations [79], and some of its research studies are part of the scientific literature in shiatsu research networks [80].

In its practical application, watsu consists of a series of pulls, holds and gentle movements to a body just above the water, without any application of pressure as in shiatsu [78, 81, 82]

Some authors specifically mention the application of pressure in water [83, 84], although pressure cannot be applied in water since the body of the receiver would go down into the water, and neither Dull’s book [78], nor any videos on watsu [81, 82] show any pressure being applied. Some researchers have pointed out how both techniques cannot be compared because there is no pressure applied in watsu [85], but others seem to assume that because the name includes shiatsu, it can be described as a shiatsu style [86], or they freely mix both techniques as if they were similar [87], or had similar effects.

Implications for research. Watsu is a clear example that, for research purposes, it is convenient not to assume that names of therapies imply clarity or similarity of what the practical application of the therapies mean. This is why it is also important to define therapies from their purely applicative point of view and not mistake theoretical explanations for technical application. Using references from a bodywork therapy, watsu, that does not use the application of pressure with the relaxed weight of the body as shiatsu, or indeed applies pressure in any other way, as evidence for the effects of shiatsu on fibromyalgia [8] seems a bit far-fetched.

with:

3.1.6 Watsu

Theoretical principles and techniques. The name watsu is an abbreviation of water shiatsu. The name was coined by Harold Dull, a shiatsu therapist, who created and developed the therapy [78]. Watsu is purported to be based on the principles of Zen Shiatsu, the shiatsu style developed by Masunaga, and to be the application of shiatsu on water. It is included as a style of shiatsu by some associations [79], and some of its research studies are part of the scientific literature in shiatsu research networks [80].

In its practical application, watsu consists of a series of pulls, holds and gentle movements to a body just above the water [78, 81, 82].

Pressure on some acupoints may be part of a watsu treatment [78, 82], although generally speaking, it does not seem to be the main part of the treatment as it is in shiatsu [81, 83, 84]. Some authors specifically mention the application of pressure in water [85, 86], but fail to mention the actual differences with shiatsu

Generally speaking, pressure applied in watsu appears to be – at least to an outside observer – less deep and of a different nature than in either Chinese Massage or shiatsu [82,87]. This would be a logical assumption since pressure in watsu is usually applied upwards, using the weight of the receiver’s body which is floating in water [82], without the reactive force that comes from the ground when pressure is applied to a body lying on a massage couch or a futon. The warm water, and the continuous passive movement in watsu mean that the physiological changes to the body of the receiver may be very different from those of shiatsu.

Some researchers have pointed out how both techniques cannot be compared [88], but others seem to assume that because the name includes shiatsu, it can be described as a shiatsu style [89], or they freely mix both techniques as if they were similar [90], or had similar effects.

Implications for research. Watsu is a clear example that, for research purposes, it is convenient not to assume that names of therapies imply clarity or similarity of what the practical application of the therapies mean. This is why it is also important to define therapies from their purely applicative point of view and not mistake theoretical explanations for technical application. Using references from a bodywork therapy, watsu, that does not use the application of pressure with the relaxed weight of the body as in shiatsu, which is applied in a different medium, and does not necessarily use the application of pressure as its main technique, as evidence for the effects of shiatsu on fibromyalgia [8] seems a bit far-fetched.

References (Order changed from Reference No. 83)

83. International School of Watsu, A Watsu Basic sequence - part 1 [Video], Spain, 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ya3qtSyMY.
84. International School of Watsu, A Watsu Basic sequence - part 2, Spain, 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJoIDate1M.
85. Schitter AM, Nedeljkovic M, Baur H, et al. Effects of passive hydrotherapy WATSU (WaterShiatsu) in the third trimester of pregnancy: results of a controlled pilot study Evidence-Based Complement Altern Med. 2015; 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/437650.
86. dos Santos Bastos G, Caetano LF. Os benefícios do Watsu na fibromialgia. Corpus et Scientia. 2010, 6.
87. Professional Shiatsu School, Abdominal Shiatsu (Hara Shiatsu) [Video], United Kingdom, 2019. https://vimeo.com/312534851.
88. Yuan SLK. Eficácia do Shiatsu na dor, sono, ansiedade, nível de confiança no equilibrio e qualidade de vida de indivíduos com fibromialgia: um ensaio clínico controlado. Universidade de São Paulo; 2012.
89. Klučinová L. Shiatsu metoda: Náhled a její možný přínos pro fyzioterapeuty. 2010.
90. Borges RM, Parizotto NA. Análise dos efeitos fisiológicos em pacientes com estresse submetidos à técnica Watsu. Fisioterapia Brasil. 2016, 2: 33-40.
91. Posadzki P, Ernst E. The safety of massage therapy: An update of a systematic review. Focus Altern Complement Ther. 2013; 18: 27-32. doi:10.1111/fct.12007.
92. Ernst E, Pittler M, Wider B, Boddy K. Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2008.
93. Oken B. Complementary therapies in neurology: An evidence-based approach. New York: Parthenon Publishing Group; 2005.
94. Batavia M. Contraindications for therapeutic massage: Do sources agree? J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2004; 8: 48-57. doi:10.1016/S1360-8592(03)00084-6.
95. Salguero CP. Encyclopedia of Thai massage: A complete guide to traditional Thai massage therapy and acupressure. 1st ed. Findhorn, UK: Findhorn Press; 2004.
96. Mercati M. The Thai massage manual: Natural therapy for flexibility, relaxation, and energy balance. New York: Sterling Publishing; 2018.

These changes have no material impact on the discussion and conclusions of the paper. The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the readers by these changes.

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.