Abstract
[Objective] To report the short-term impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on therapists providing massage, acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, and Judo therapy.
[Materials and Methods] From the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, we collected data on the expenditure per household (consisting of two or more persons) on massage, acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, and Judo therapy from the first quarter of 2015 (mean from January to March) to the second quarter of 2020 (mean from April to June). The expenditure in the second quarter of 2020, during which the spread of COVID-19 led to the declaration of a state of emergency, was compared with the expenditures in the first quarter of 2020 and the corresponding second quarter of the previous year. It was also compared with the expenditure in a control group, comprising other therapies (e.g., manual therapy, chiropractic manipulation, reflexology, and pelvic adjustment) provided by therapists who are not required to be legally qualified but who are subject to closure requests.
[Results] In the second quarter of 2020, the mean expenditure per household on massage, acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, and Judo therapy decreased by 9% and 13% from those in the first quarter of 2020 and the corresponding second quarter of the previous year, respectively. The mean expenditure per household in the control group decreased by 46% and 41% from the first quarter of 2020 and the corresponding second quarter of the previous year, respectively.
[Conclusions] In the short term, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have caused a 13% decrease in revenue for therapists providing massage, acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, and Judo therapy. As this decrease was smaller than that for therapists who are not required to be legally qualified, this study revealed a steady demand for the services provided by legally licensed therapists.
