therefore like to draw attention to the possibility that Shiatsu massage of the neck may cause serious neurological complications’. Case reports 1.Yeh, C.-C. M. F., Wu, C. T. M., & Huh, B. (2009), Collateral Meridian Acupressure Therapy Effectively Relieves Postregional Anesthesia/Analgesia Backache, Southern Medical Journal, 102(11): 1179-1182. Comment: These case studies (2) report collateral meridian acupressure therapy which is a new therapy so this format is suitable (see also Yeh et al 2009 and Lin et al 2009 below). The cases are well reported and include objective outcomes (infrared thermography), but cannot be included due to their anecdotal nature. 2. Long,A.F., L.Esmonde, and S.Connolly. (2009) A typology of negative responses: a case study of shiatsu. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 17:(3): 168-175. Comment: The findings from this study have been included elsewhere – see Long 2008. This paper has created a typology of negative responses to Shiatsu, from case studies in three different countries (UK, Austria and Spain). It includes data from a large sample but there is a strong risk of bias from practitioners conducting data collection and the use of postal questionnaires (response rate 67%). Patients may have been reluctant to report ‘negative’ responses. Clinical guidelines/news item 1. Chevalier,D. (2007) The Role of Shiatsu in the Treatment of the Side-Effects of Chemotherapy. Shiatsu Society News 103.14-16. Comment: Although this paper reports an effectiveness study, it is reported as a news item so cannot be included in the review, nor quality assessed, due to lack of information on study methodology. It is a small study (16 patients) of existing patients, which is uncontrolled. It evaluates effectiveness of Shiatsu for chemotherapy side effects, using a before and after design and a 10 point symptom scale. Average rate of improvement was 64%. However, the anecdotal nature of this study give it limited value. General information, surveys, uses of Shiatsu 1. Adams,G. (2002). Shiatsu in Britain and Japan: personhood, holism and embodied aesthetics. Anthropology & Medicine 9:245-265. Abstract: In this paper, globalisation processes are examined through the prism of Shiatsu, an originally Japanese, touch-based therapy, now practised in Europe, Japan, North America, and many other places. Examining this emergent plane of therapeutic practice provides an opportunity to reflect on categories of personhood, notably that of the individual, and its place within processes of globalisation. The article is divided into two parts. In the first part the holisms inherent to East Asian medical practice and underlying notions of personhood in Japan and Britain are critically examined. The seemingly reductionistic practice of 'bodily holism' in Japan is shown to reflect socio-centred notions of the person. The concept of holism animating Shiatsu in a British school in London, far from being Japanese, 'ancient', or 'timeless', is shown to reflect individualism characteristic of the New Age movement. In the second part of the paper, using an auto-phenomenological approach, a description of practitioner and client's lived experience of Shiatsu is 205 given in case study form. This illustrates how 'holism' is felt within the context of a Shiatsu treatment. The aesthetic form of the Shiatsu touch described is shown to be implicitly individualising. This has, it is argued, profound implications for understanding the embodied dimensions of practitioner-patient encounters, the potential efficacy of treatment, and more generally the practice of globalised East Asian 'holistic' therapies in Britain and other settings. 2. Cheesman,S., Christian,R., and Cresswell,J. (2001). Exploring the value of Shiatsu in palliative care day services. Int J Palliat.Nurs 7:234-239. Abstract: This qualitative study sought to evaluate the effects of Shiatsu therapy on clients attending hospice day services. Eleven clients with advanced progressive disease received five therapy sessions each at weekly intervals. Data about the effects was collected through five unstructured interviews with each client. Four of these were conducted before, during, and shortly after the therapy regime, and the fifth was undertaken four weeks after treatment ended. All the interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and subject to content analysis. The results of the analysis revealed significant improvements in energy levels, relaxation, confidence, symptom control, clarity of thought and mobility. These benefits were of variable duration - in some instances lasting a few hours but in others extending beyond the 5-week treatment regime. Action to ensure research trustworthiness included keeping research journals to provide an audit trail, conducting member checks and using peer debriefing. The study involved three overlapping cohorts of participants in a data collection period that took approximately 6 months. Comment: This is a purely qualitative study with no quantifiable or statistical analysis and therefore cannot be assessed as evidence. It does however, offer an insight into the possible benefits of the use of Shiatsu for palliative care patients. 3. Ferguson,P. (1995). Empowerment through self-healing. Shiatsu for nurses. Revolution: The Journal of Nurse Empowerment 1995 Winter; 5:44-46. Comment: This introduces the practice of Shiatsu to nurses for patients and for themselves. 4.