Abstract
Objective: To summarize the current evidence on the effects and safety of massage therapy for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents. Method: A systematic review of 8 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 3 case series studies was conducted with a meta-analysis of 4 of the RCTs. Results: Pooled analysis showed that massage produced more improvement in ADHD symptoms in terms of effective rate compared to Ritalin (risk ratio: 1.39, 95%CI: 1.16 – 1.66; P = 0.0004). Individual RCTs suggested that massage was differed significantly from waitlist control in improving the conditions of anxious–passive (mean difference: −11.7; 95%CI [−17.84, −5.56]; P = 0.0002), and asocial behavior (mean difference = − 8.60; 95%CI [−15.87, −1.33]; P = 0.02). Conclusion: Evidence suggests that massage therapy is beneficial for treating ADHD in children and adolescents.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 389-399 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Complementary Therapies in Medicine |
Volume | 42 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2019 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Complementary and Manual Therapy
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- Advanced and Specialised Nursing
User-Defined Keywords
- ADHD
- Massage
- Meta-analysis
- Systematic review