Is energy healing an effective non-pharmacological therapy for improving symptom management of chronic illnesses? A systematic review

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Background: Emerging evidence suggests that some people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have integrated energy healing into their self-management strategy, however little is known about its efficacy. Purpose: To identify energy healing interventions that impacted positively on the symptom management outcomes for patients living in the community with various NCDs. Methods: A systematic review of energy healing interventions for the management of noncommunicable disease related symptoms, conducted between 01 January 2000 and 21 April 2015, published in an English peer-reviewed journal. This review conforms to the PRISMA statement. Results: 27 studies were identified that evaluated various energy healing interventions involving (n= 3159). Thirteen of the energy healing trials generated statistically significant outcomes. Conclusions:Energy healing has demonstrated some improvement in illness symptoms, however high level evidence consistently demonstrating efficacy is lacking. Further more robust trials are required to better understand which elements of energy healing interventions are associated with positive outcomes.

A Large-Scale Effectiveness Trial of Reiki for Physical and Psychological Health

“…However, experiments with sham Reiki active controls, in which a person untrained in Reiki uses the same hand positions as a Reiki practitioner on client or patient, also have a therapeutic effect, such as reducing selfreported anxiety. 4,12,32 Although sham Reiki has some therapeutic benefits, Reiki appears to be more effective than sham Reiki based on current pilot studies, 10,25,26,[33][34][35][36] although one study reported no difference between sham Reiki and Reiki for treating fibromyalgia. 37 It is difficult to study the placebo response in a population who is paying Reiki practitioners to provide them with Reiki.…”

“…Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of Reiki reveal that it has statistically significant improvements in many physical and psychological symptoms common to a wide range of diseases such as mood problems, anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain, and nausea. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] From 1989 to 2018, a total of 74 peer-reviewed research articles have been published on Reiki. Of the higher quality studies, those comparing Reiki to at least sham-Reiki or standard-of-care largely support the hypothesis that Reiki may reduce pain, anxiety, depression, and burnout and may increase relaxation and well-being.…”

Personalised Medicine for Dementia: Collaborative Research of Multimodal Non-pharmacological Treatment with the UK National Health Service (NHS)

“…The biofield is a 'multilevel organizational concept in which information flows within and between the various levels of the organism' [103]. Biofield therapy [104] is non-invasive and involves practitioner interactions with the client's biofields, interacting fields of energy and information both within and around living systems [105][106][107], capturing an "aspect of healing beyond limited implication of medicine as a treatment for illness," [103] but also in clinical studies reducing pain, negative behavioural symptoms in dementia and anxiety in hospitalised populations [108,109]. The possibilities are staggering -"The ability to understand and control shape in its most general form offers the opportunity to address a wide range of biomedical problems and restore complex structures damaged by injury, cancer, disease or age."…”

Effects Induced In Vivo by Exposure to Magnetic Signals Derived From a Healing Technique

“…All animals but 3 in each group were euthanized on day 21 as they reached a criterion for euthanasia (ulceration or tumor size > 2 cm 3 ). The 9 remaining mice were allowed to develop ulcers per protocol and were euthanized on day 28 as the calculated tumor volume reached 2 cm 3 .…”

“…Reviews of clinical trials testing energy healing for various diseases suggest that therapeutic potential that may be more readily demonstrated with improved study designs, for example, focusing on targeted outcomes or clarifying methods used for the intervention, among others. 3 We have developed a method to record magnetic and electromagnetic signals associated with energy healing, then play back that recording to test if it mimics the effect of a live healer. The energy healing technique we have focused on is the Bengston Healing Method (BHM), a technique developed in the early 1970s.…”