Usefulness of a Newly-Developed Device, Power Tree®, for Body Massage: Evidence from a Medical Evaluation ()
ABSTRACT
We
investigated the effectiveness and usefulness of a novel tool: the Power Tree?,
for body massage in 10 healthy female volunteers (age range, 24 - 55 years;
mean age, 40.5 years) by evaluating several dermatological and psychological
parameters, such as the amount of dermal collagen, the skin temperature, the
level of salivary amylase and the scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Index
(STAI). After 60-minute Power Tree?-mediated body massage, both the
dermal collagen score determined from the DermaLab? images and skin temperature measured by infrared
thermography were found to have increased significantly in several body sites
compared to those before the treatment (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001,
respectively). Although the level of stress estimated by the amount of amylase
in the saliva was not significantly different pre- and post-procedure (p =
0.3), the treatment significantly reduced both the state anxiety (SA) and trait
anxiety (TA) scores on the STAI (p < 0.001 for the SA, p < 0.01 for the
TA). The treatment with this device was smoothly performed without any burden
on the therapists during the present study. These data suggest that the
newly-developed device is a powerful and useful tool for reflexology when used
for full body massage therapy, and massage therapy using this device may
produce beneficial, physiological effects as well as psychosocial improvements.
Share and Cite:
Ishii, K. , Kotani, M. , Fujita, A. and Moriwaki, S. (2014) Usefulness of a Newly-Developed Device, Power Tree
®, for Body Massage: Evidence from a Medical Evaluation.
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
4, 185-189. doi:
10.4236/jcdsa.2014.43026.