{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T22:08:46Z","timestamp":1782511726679,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,1]],"date-time":"2013-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1362096000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>As Chinese massage is increasingly popular, many physicians are needed these days. In order to promote the experience and skills of experts and reduce labour intensity during massage, a massage robot, which could reproduce the expert techniques with individualized manipulation parameters and enhanced safety control strategies, is presented in this paper.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>The kinematic and force features of key massage techniques, such as Thumb Kneading, Pressing, Rolling, Vibrating and Pinching, are summarized by analyzing the massage processes of expert physicians, and a mathematical model for robotic massage is established. With safety issues taken into account, the overall system structure of the massage robot is proposed. The system generally consists of a positioning platform and a massage end\u2010effector which implements the massage techniques, and the end\u2010effector is further divided into a parallel mechanism and a massage hand to accommodate different techniques. Visual tracking is used for positioning acupuncture points by recognizing markers on a massage vest worn by the patient. A pain threshold value is introduced to individualize therapy schemes and a force\u2010position control method based on the pain threshold is presented.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) tests for lumbar muscle strain are carried out using the massage robot, and the treatment effect of the massage robot based on traditional Chinese massage therapy theory is initially validated.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>The treatment effect of the massage robot needs to be assessed clinically for more occasions and more clinical experiments will be conducted, to optimize the configuration and control strategy to meet the clinical needs in future work.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>The robotic massage system presented in this paper is acting on acupuncture points based on traditional Chinese massage therapy theory, with human manipulation techniques reproduced and expert experiences incorporated. The massage robot can take the place of a massager to perform Chinese massage. Most of the massage robotic systems published in the world perform only one massage technique and the whole massage process is not completely considered. By comparison, the authors' massage robot could perform five techniques. Furthermore, the authors have designed the procedure of robotic massage specifically for patients who suffer from lumbar muscle strain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/01439911311297775","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,4,23]],"date-time":"2013-04-23T05:34:52Z","timestamp":1366695292000},"page":"158-172","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["A massage robot based on Chinese massage therapy"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"40","author":[{"given":"Lei","family":"Hu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lvzhong","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junyuan","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liming","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bangcheng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b1","unstructured":"Alavandar, S., vairava Sundaram, K.A. and Nigam, M.J. (2007), \u201cGenetic algorithm based robot massage\u201d, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 102\u20109."},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Field, T., Diego, M. and Hernandez\u2010Reif, M. (2007), \u201cMassage therapy research\u201d, Developmental Review, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 75\u201089.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dr.2005.12.002"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b3","unstructured":"Golivin, V. and Grib, A. (2002), \u201cMechatronic system for manual therapy and massage\u201d, Proceedings of the 8th Mechatronics Forum International Conference (Mechatronics 2002), University of Twente, June 24\u201026, pp. 774\u201084."},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Innocenti, C. and Wenger, P. (2006), \u201cPosition analysis of the RRP\u20103(SS) multi\u2010loop spatial structure\u201d, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 128 No. 1, pp. 272\u20108.","DOI":"10.1115\/1.1992507"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lewis, M. and Johnson, M.I. (2006), \u201cThe clinical effectiveness of therapeutic massage for musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review\u201d, Physiotherapy, Vol. 92 No. 3, pp. 146\u201058.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physio.2006.02.008"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luo, R.C., Chang, C.C. and Pemg, V.W. (2009), \u201cImpedance control on a multi\u2010fingered robot hand based on analyzed electromyographic information for massage applications\u201d, IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, July 5\u20108, pp. 1217\u201022.","DOI":"10.1109\/ISIE.2009.5214447"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b5","unstructured":"Minyong, P., Miyoshi, T., Terashima, K. and Kitagawa, H. (2003), \u201cPosition and force control of multi\u2010fingered robot hand and its application to massage motion\u201d, Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Robotics and Applications, June 25\u201027, pp. 100\u20105."},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mouri, K., Terashima, K., Minyong, P., Kitagawa, H. and Miyoshi, T. (2007), \u201cIdentification and hybrid impedance control of human skin muscle by multi\u2010fingered robot hand\u201d, Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE\/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, October 29\u2010November 2, Vol. 1\u20109, pp. 2901\u20106.","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2007.4399308"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Terashima, K., Kitagawa, H., Miyoshi, T., Minyong, P. and Kondo, T. (2006), \u201cModeling and massage control of human skin muscle by using multi\u2010fingered robot hand\u201d, Integrated Computer\u2010Aided Engineering, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 233\u201048.","DOI":"10.3233\/ICA-2006-13304"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wewers, M.E. and Lowe, N.K. (1990), \u201cA critical review of visual analogue scales in the measurement of clinical phenomena\u201d, Research in Nursing & Health, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 227\u201036.","DOI":"10.1002\/nur.4770130405"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xie, J. and Kuang, L.H. (2010), \u201cType synthesis and workspace analysis of a novel series Chinese medical massage arm\u201d, Applied Mechanics and Materials, Vol. 43, pp. 78\u201083.","DOI":"10.4028\/www.scientific.net\/AMM.43.78"},{"key":"key2022030920025092800_b11","unstructured":"Yin, X.Q. and Xu, Y.G. (2010), \u201cDesign and simulation of Chinese massage robot based on parallel mechanism\u201d, International Conference on Mechanic Automation and Control Engineering, (MACE\u2009), June 26\u201028, pp. 2512\u201015."}],"container-title":["Industrial Robot: An International Journal"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emeraldinsight.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1108\/01439911311297775","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/01439911311297775\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/01439911311297775\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T23:51:01Z","timestamp":1753401061000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/ir\/article\/40\/2\/158-172\/179226"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,1]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/01439911311297775"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/01439911311297775","relation":{},"ISSN":["0143-991X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0143-991X","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,3,1]]}}}