Can Child Adolesc Psychiatr Rev. 2003 Mar; 12(2): 40–43.

The Effects of Massage Therapy & Exercise Therapy on Children/Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Barbara Maddigan, M.D., FRCPC,* Pamela Hodgson, Registered massage therapist, Sylvia Heath, RN, Barbara Dick, yoga therapist, Kimberly St. John, MD, FRCPC, Tina McWilliam-Burton, MD, FRCPC, Christine Snelgrove, MD, FRCPC, and Hubert White, MD, FRCPC


Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is both a common and disabling disorder. As many as 3–5% of school age children have this disorder, characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity which significantly impairs social, academic, or occupational functioning (Kaplan & Sadock). These patients present frequently to psychiatry for assessment and treatment, and while medications and behaviour modification management help control this disorder, they are not curative. Many parents are seeking alternative therapies for their children, and massage therapy is one such possibility. Massage therapy has been studied in a number of medical and psychiatric illnesses with positive results (American Psychologist, Dec.,1998). A recent study by Field et al 1998, showed massage therapy to decrease fidgeting and improve scores on the Conners Scale (Conners, 1995) in adolescents with ADHD. Massage therapy has also been shown to increase serotonin levels (Field et al 1996, Ironson et al 1996) which might help modulate elevated dopamine levels thought to occur in children with ADHD.

This pilot project had three main objectives: (1) to examine whether massage or exercise therapy would be effective in reducing symptoms or medication dose in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in school age patients already stabilized on medication and/or behavioural modification; (2) to examine patient and parental compliance with a weekly out-patient clinical session and educational component of daily home-based intervention; (3) to examine the feasibility of using massage and/or exercise therapy with children with ADHD on a larger scale and for a longer period of time.

Results
All parents involved in this study indicated that this was a positive experience for them and their children. The Parent Conners Scale also indicates an improvement in the Conners Rating Scale for children in the massage therapy group. These results were not evident however, in the Teacher’s questionnaire. We would have liked to have done the 12 week Teacher’s Conners Scale, but due to the timing of the study, this was unable to be obtained.

Discussion
Although the objectives of this project are difficult to comment on due to the small sample size, and thus clinically significant data is lacking, the experience of both the patients and the families was positive. There was also a trend of improved symptomatology evident within the massage therapy group, coupled with an enthusiasm by the families with regard to this treatment.

These encouraging results lead us to feel that there is some promise in this area for further research. We would redesign a future study to focus on an inpatient group where patients do not have to travel to obtain treatment. An alternate option would be to decrease the sessions possibly from 6 massage/exercise sessions to 3 and increase the parental instruction, to address comments made by parents that they would like more time with the hands on instruction.

With mounting parental dissatisfaction being expressed in our clinics, with stimulant medication for children with ADHD, alternative therapies deserve further research.



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記事作成：加藤晃司（医療法人永朋会）
　　　　　専門：児童精神科（日本児童青年期精神医学会認定医、子どものこころ専門医）