2011 Annual Conference

Tapley, Howell

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between physical, mental and spiritual health. An additional purpose was to determine if the practice of aikido was associated with measurable levels of somatic symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety and spirituality.

A total of 278 subjects participated in the study. The subjects came from 26 separate aikido schools in a total of 13 states across the continental United States. Age ranged from 21 to 73 with a mean of 37.

A cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study to test the following hypotheses: 1)  After controlling for demographic variables, daily spiritual experience will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety and somatic symptoms. Higher levels of daily spiritual experience will be associated with lower levels of perceived stress, anxiety and somatic symptoms, and 2)  After controlling for demographic variables, aikido experience level as measured by belt rank will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety, somatic symptoms and daily spiritual experiences. Higher levels of aikido experience will be associated with lower levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and somatic symptoms and higher levels of daily spiritual experience. Paper surveys were mailed, completed by subjects, then returned via US mail in sealed envelopes. Measurement instruments included Cohen’s 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Spielberger’s 20-item Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), and the 16-item Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES).

Data was entered into SPSS version 15. Relationships between variables were explored.

Hierarchical (sequential) regression was performed using SPSS version 15.0. The results did not support either hypothesis. Additional analysis, however, indicated that daily spiritual experience was associated with trait anxiety. More daily spiritual experience was associated with less trait anxiety (r = .131, p = .035). Specifically, more daily spiritual experience was associated with feeling pleasant, having less nervousness and restlessness, more satisfaction with self, fewer wishes to be as happy as others, more happiness, less discontentment and more steadiness (r = .124 to .205, p<.05). More daily spiritual experience also was associated with less trouble sleeping (r = .126, p<.05) as measured using the PHQ-15.

      Belt rank in aikido was associated with 2 individual items on the PHQ-15. More experience in aikido was associated with more pain in the back (r = .191, p<.05), and more pain in the arms, legs and joints (r = .224, p<.05). Belt rank in aikido also was associated with 1 item on the TAI. More experience in aikido was associated with more feelings of steadiness (r = -.199, p<.05). When compared with normative data, female aikido students presented with lower perceived stress (t = 2.02, p<.05) as measured using the PSS. A surprising finding of this study was that aikido students presented with less daily spiritual experience (t = 4.83, p<.05) when compared with normative data for the DSES.

Experience level in martial arts (aikido), had weak associations with some holistic health variables. Weak associations also exist between mental, physical and spiritual health in this population. More experience in martial arts was related to more musculoskeletal symptoms.

Martial artists experience significant musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction, often due to injuries. Nonetheless, students persevere through aches and pains in search of mental and spiritual health. This study does not support the idea that experience in the martial arts leads to significantly less stress, anxiety and higher levels of spirituality. Healthcare providers should use caution when counseling adults in the health-related benefits of martial arts practice, specifically taking into account the high injury rates in some forms such as aikido.