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A new craze is taking Japan by storm and sees adults wrapped up like babies and swayed from side-to-side.

The bizarre-looking therapy called Otonamaki is becoming popular especially with new mums.

At a recent session in Tokyo organised by a non-profit organisation dedicated to post-natal women, five tried out the new trend.

Each took turns to tie each other in a large cloth from head to toe and in a cross-legged position, with the guidance from the session's organiser Yayoi Katayama.

They also swayed lightly from side-to-side after being laid gently on their backs in the hope of helping loosening the muscles and bones.

Some were given the option to use a colored cloth to help simulate different environments as they lay completely covered in the white cloths.

After emerging one woman said: "It felt warm and there was this feeling with my body. I have never experienced this before so its quite hard to describe properly."

Ms Katayama said the practice was first devised by a famous midwife called Nobuko Watanabe from Kyoto city, and was especially devised for women suffering from post-natal stiffness in their shoulders or hips.

She said: "We call baby swaddling in Japan 'doll wrap'.

"We wrap them in cloths and they sleep very well like that. I believe this came about when someone thought about doing this with adults."

"When we tried it, it was very relaxing.

"We understood why babies sleep well like this. And when adults tried it, it helped loosen them up. We think it would be good to add this before exercises and also after birth - many new mothers have hip aches and shoulder aches - so we wrap mothers for this."

However some healthcare professionals are not convinced the therapy has any lasting medical benefits.

Chiropractor Shiro Oba of Akasaka Chiropractics said: "There may be cases where people with asthma may find it easier to breath, but once the cloth is off it's the same thing.

"But apart from that, I just can't think of how people can benefit from this even as a form of reflexology or exercise."

Me Oba warned anyone with back problems against trying this out, and advises anyone with a potential medical issue to consult a physician first before wrapping onself up in swaddling cloths.