Biofield Therapies: Helpful Or Full Of Hype? Review Looks At Reiki, Therapeutic

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Biofield Therapies: Helpful Or Full Of Hype? Review Looks At Reiki, Therapeutic

Touch And Healing Touch

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111913.htm

Biofield therapies, which claim to use subtle energy to stimulate the body's

healing process, are promising complementary interventions for reducing the

intensity of pain in a number of conditions, reducing anxiety for hospitalized

patients and reducing agitated behaviors in dementia, over and above what

standard treatments can achieve. However, longer-term effects are less clear.

Dr. Shamini Jain, from the UCLA Division of Cancer Prevention and Control

Research, and Dr. Mills, from the Department of Psychiatry at the

University of California, and the s Comprehensive Cancer Center in San

Diego, US, publish their review1 of the science behind biofield therapies online

this week in Springer's International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

A significant number of patients use biofield therapies -- Reiki, therapeutic

touch and healing touch -- despite very little research proving that they work.

These techniques have been used over millennia in various cultural communities

to heal physical and mental disorders. They have only recently been under the

scrutiny of current Western scientific methods.

In a detailed review of 66 clinical studies looking at biofield therapies in

different patient populations with a range of ailments, Jain and Mills examine

the strength of the evidence for the efficacy of these complementary therapies.

They show that overall, published work on biofield therapies is of average

quality -- in scientific terms.

Bearing that in mind, they find strong evidence that biofield therapies reduce

pain intensity in free-living populations, and moderate evidence that they are

effective at lowering pain in hospitalized patients as well as in patients with

cancer.

There is also moderate evidence that these therapies ease agitated behaviors in

dementia and moderate evidence that they reduce anxiety in hospitalized

patients. There is inconclusive evidence for the efficacy of biofield therapies

on symptoms of fatigue and quality of life in cancer patients, as well as for

overall pain reduction, and anxiety management in cardiovascular patients.

The authors conclude that there is a strong need for further high-quality

studies and suggest specific areas for further research. They add: " In order to

better inform patients of the potential benefits or non-benefits of these

biofield-based interventions, clinicians and scientists within behavioral

medicine should familiarize themselves with current theory, practice and

research of such techniques. "

Journal reference:

Jain S & Mills PJ. Biofield Therapies: Helpful or Full of Hype? A Best Evidence

Synthesis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2009; DOI:

10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4