validation>Scientific studies

Though using only small samples, scientific studies on reiki have begun to appear. Below are data from the abstracts of several published studies on reiki and other energetic practices with links to the complete abstracts on the Pubmed website (a service of the National Library of Medicine and of the National Institute for Health, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the United-States) :

• yoga, tai chi, meditation and reiki : effect on nurses - USA
• reiki and autonomic nervous system - United Kingdom
• reiki and relaxation - USA
• reiki and pain - Canada
• reiki and pain (cancer patients) - Canada
• reiki and pain, anxiety (hysterectomized patients) - USA
• reiki and fatigue, pain, anxiety, quality of life (cancer patients) - Canada
• hands-on reiki and distance reiki : effect at 1 year on depressive symptoms
• alternative therapies and psychotherapy (DSM-IV diagnosed subjects) - USA - several therapies including reiki
• reiki and memory, behaviour deficiencies (mild cognitive alteration, mild Alzheimer) - USA
• distance treatments : effect at 6 months for advanced aids patients) - USA - several distance therapies not named in the abstract

 

“The effectiveness of tai chi, yoga, meditation, and reiki healing sessions
in promoting health and enhancing
problem solving abilities of registered nurses”

Authors : Raingruber B., Robinson C. (University of California-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA)
Year : 2007
Publication : Issues in Mental Health Nursing , 28(10) : 1141-55

Protocol

• Subjects : nurses
• Program : yoga, tai chi, meditation classes and reiki healing sessions
• Measures : self-care journals, analyzed with a Heideggerian phenomenological approach

Among the results

• Relaxing sSensations of warmth, tingling, and pulsation
• Enhanced problem solving ability
• Increased ability to focus on patient needs

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Autonomic nervous system changes during reiki treatment :
a preliminary study”

Authors : Mackay N., Hansen S., McFarlane O. (Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom)
Year : 2004
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 10(6) : 1077-81

Protocol

• Subjects : 45 people
• Program : 3 random groups assigned each to 1 condition, no treatment (rest), reiki treatment, placebo treatment
• Measures : quantitative measures recorded, values during and after the treatment period compared with baseline data

Significant outcomes in the reiki group compared to both placebo and control groups

• Heart rate decreased
• Diastolic blood pressure decreased

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Biological correlates of Reiki touch(sm) healing”

Authors : Wardell D.W., Engebretson J. (School of Nursing, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, United-States)
Year : 2001
Publication : Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(4) : 439-45

Protocol

• Subjects : 23 essentially healthy people
• Program : 30-minute reiki session
• Measures : data collected before, during and immediately after the session

Significant results

• During the session :
  • skin temperature increased
  • muscle tension decreased
• Before/after the session :
  • anxiety reduced
  • salivary IgA levels rose
  • drop in systolic blood pressure

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to manage pain : a preliminary report”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J. (Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 1997
Publication : Cancer Prevention and Control, 1(2) : 108-13

Protocol

• Subjects : 20 volunteers experiencing pain at 55 sites and using opioid therapy
• Program : reiki treatment
• Measures : pain measured before and after the treatment

Significant results

• Highly significant reduction of pain

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A phase II trial of reiki for the management of pain
in advanced cancer patients”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J., Michaud M. (Faculty of Nursing and International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2003
Publication : Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 26(5) : 990-7

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 patients with cancer pain
• Program : 2 groups, either standard opioid management plus rest (2 rest periods within 7 days) or standard opioid management plus reiki (2 reiki treatments within 7 days)
• Measures : pain ratings, blood pressure, heart rate and respiration before and after treatment/rest periods ; analgesic use and pain ratings reported for 7 days ; quality of life assessed on days 1 et 7

Results for the reiki group compared with the rest group

• Improved pain control following treatments
• Improved quality of life

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“The effect of reiki on pain and anxiety in women with abdominal hysterectomies : a quasi-experimental pilot study”

Authors : Vitale A.T., O’Connor P.C. (Community Medical Center, Toms River, New Jersey, United-States)
Year : 2006
Publication : Holistic Nursing Practice, 20(6) : 263-274

Protocol

• Subjects : 22 women after abdominal hysterectomy
• Program : 2 groups, the experimental one receiving traditional nursing care plus 3 30-minute sessions of reiki, the control one receiving traditional nursing care

Results for the experimental group compared to the control group

• Less pain
• Fewer analgesic requested
• Reduced state anxiety on discharge at 72 hours postoperation

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Pilot crossover trial of reiki versus rest
for treating cancer-related fatigue”

Authors : Tsang K.L., Carlson L.E., Olson K. (Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2007
Publication : Integrative Cancer Therapies, 6(1) : 25-35

Protocol

• Subjects : 16 cancer patients
• Program : 2 conditions, reiki condition (daily reiki sessions, then days without treatment, then reiki sessions, then days without treatment) and resting condition (rest sessions instead of reiki sessions)
• Measures : questionnaires before and after reiki/rest sessions

Significant results in the reiki condition

• Fatigue decreased over the course of all treatments
• Improvements in quality of life compared to the resting condition
• Scores of presession 1 versus postsession 5 (results not seen in the resting condition) : significant decreases in tiredness, pain, and anxiety

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Long-term effects of energetic healing on symptoms of
psychological depression and self-perceived stress”

Author : Shore A.G. (PhD)
Year : 2004
Publication : Alternative Therapies: A Guide to Complementary Medicine, 10(3) : 42-48

Protocol

• Subjects : 46 participants
• Program : 3 random groups, receiving either hands-on reiki, or distance reiki, or distance reiki placebo ; 1 to 1,5 hour treatment each week for 6 weeks
• Measures : symptoms of psychological depression and self-perceived stress

Significant results for the treatment groups compared with the placebo group

• Reduction in symptoms of psychological distress
• Differences still present 1 year later

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Integrating complementary therapies into
community mental health practice : an exploration”

Authors : Collinge W., Wentworth R., Sabo S. (Collinge and Associates, Kittery Point, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2005
Publication : Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(3) : 569-74

Protocol

• Subjects : 25 people receiving ongoing psychotherapy, with a mean history of 7.4 years of mental health treatment, all histories including trauma, and a DSM-IV diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anxiety disorder, or dual diagnosis
• Program : 5 sessions in the mean of either massage, or acupuncture, or reiki, or healing touch
• Measures : interview data before treatments ; ratings of satisfaction and perceived changes in four dimensions of trauma recovery after treatments
  

Results

• High levels of satisfaction of the service
• Significant levels of perceived change on each outcome measure
• Enhanced psychotherapeutic outcomes reported by mental health clinicians

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to decrease memory and behavior problems
in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease”

Authors : Crawford S.E., Leaver V.W., Mahoney S.D. (Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, Perry, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2006
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 12(9) : 911-3

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 participants, aged from 60 to 80 years old, with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer's disease
• Program : 2 groups, either 4 weekly reiki treatment, or no treatment
• Measures : before and after treatment

Significant results

• Increase in mental functioning
• Improvement in memory problems
• Improvement in behavior problems

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing
in a population with advanced AIDS. Report of a small scale study”

Authors : Sicher F., Targ E., Moore D. 2nd, Smith H.S. (Geraldine Brush Cancer Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, United-States)
Year :  1998
Publication : Western Journal of Medicine,169(6) : 356-63

Protocol

• Subjects : 40 patients with advanced AIDS
• Program : 2 groups, either 10 weeks of distance healing treatment (by healers located throughout the United States), or no treatment
• Measures : psychometric testing and blood draw at enrollment, and subjects followed for 6 months

Significant results at 6 months for the treatment subjects compared with the control group

• Fewer new AIDS-defining illnesses
• Lower illness severity
• Fewer doctor visits required
• Fewer hospitalizations required
• Fewer days of hospitalization required
• Better mood

• read the study abstract on Pubmed