Bullock, Marlene, 1997. "Reiki: A Complementary Therapy for Life," The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care. 1997 Jan/Feb; 14(1): pp. 31-3.

This article describes the treatment of a 70 year-old man with an aggressive cancer using palliative radiation and medication, and Reiki. Through her hospice experiences the author concludes that, "Some general trends seen with Reiki include: periods of stabilization in which there is time to enjoy the last days of one's life, a peaceful and calm passing if death is imminent; and relief from pain, anxiety, dyspnea and edema. Reiki is a valuable complement in supporting patients in their end-of-life journey, enhancing the quality of their remaining days."

 

Olson K, Hanson J, 1997. "Using Reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report." Cancer Prevention Control 1997, June, Vol.1(2): pages 108-13.

The purpose of this study at the Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Canada was to explore the usefulness of Reiki as an adjuvant to opioid therapy in the management of pain. Since no studies in this area could be found, a pilot study was carried out involving 20 volunteers experiencing pain at 55 sites for a variety of reasons, including cancer. All Reiki treatments were provided by a certified second-degree Reiki therapist. Pain was measured using both a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a Likert scale immediately before and after the Reiki treatment. Both instruments showed a highly significant (p < 0.0001) reduction in pain following the Reiki treatment.

 

Sawyer, Jeannette, 1998. "The First Reiki Practitioner in Our OR". AORN Journal (Association of Operating Room Nurses), Mar; 67(3): pp. 674-7.

A patient at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire requested that her Reiki practitioner be present for her laparoscopic procedure. This article discusses the steps taken to fulfill this request and to develop requirements for allowing complementary healers in the operating room.

 

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The following abstracts were obtained from                      http://www.issseem.org/WS5Abstracts.html

A Comparison of Human Energy Fields Before and After Stimulation of Dr. C. Norman Shealy’s Rings of Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and Crystal
Barbara A. Haydon, BSN, MA, Th.D., The Source for Health and Fitness, Hayesville, North Carolina
Objective: The present research explores the human energetic field change in the human body after the electrical stimulus of Dr. C. Norman Shealy's Rings of Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Crystal are applied. In addition, a control group of non-acupuncture points is also compared to the rings' analysis. The rings of acupuncture points produce specific hormones in the body with stimulation of the points with the SheLi TENS. The present study compares the five rings and their respective electro magnetic energy fields.
Material and Methods: The Gas Discharge Visualization Bioelectrography (BEO-GDV) instrument was used to measure the change in the human energy field. The GDV camera did a measurement of the fingertips with and without a filter. The SheLi TENS stimulator device was used to stimulate the acupuncture points of the rings’ and control group. Fifty-five to sixty-one volunteers were tested in each set. The age ranges was 21 to 80 years and were all healthy individuals.
Results: The pre-treatment numbers were compared to the post-treatment numbers. A statistical change was detected in the Rings of Water, Earth, Crystal, and Air without a filter both right and left hands. No statistical change was detected for the Ring of Fire with or without a filter. Statistically significant changes in the energy field with a filter included the Ring of Crystal left hand and Ring of Earth right hand. The rings of Air and Water had no statistical significant change with a filter. The control showed no statistical significant change with or without a filter. Another analysis of the least-squares fit was done to show the movement of the electromagnetic field before and after stimulation. All of the rings showed a movement toward the balance points except the control group.
Conclusion: The most significant finding in this research was that the electrical stimulation of the acupuncture points (rings’) with the SheLi TENS moved the electromagnetic energy toward a homeostasis or balance point in the body.

The Effects of Reiki on Bacterial Culture Growth in Relation to Psycho-Social Context
Beverly Rubik1, Audrey Brooks2, and Gary Schwartz2; 1 Biofield Research Center, Institute for Frontier Science, Oakland, CA; 2 Department of Psychology and Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Objective: To measure effects of Reiki treatments on growth of heat-shocked bacteria, and to determine the influence of practitioner psychosocial well-being.
Materials and Methods: E. coli K12 was grown overnight and resuspended in fresh medium. Culture samples were paired with controls to minimize any ordering effects. Samples were heat-shocked prior to Reiki treatment, which was performed by single Reiki practitioners for up to 15 min, with untreated controls. Plate count assays were performed to determine the number of viable bacteria using an automated counter. 14 Reiki practitioners completed 2 runs (n=28 runs).
Results: No difference was found between the Reiki and control plates using paired t-tests. Half the runs showed control counts greater than Reiki bacterial counts, and vice versa. Individual practitioners did not produce consistent effects in duplicate runs. However, upon close examination of the pre-post psychosocial data, changes in social (p<.05), mental (p<.09), emotional (p<.09), and overall well-being (p<.08) were found to correlate with Reiki treatment outcome. For practitioners starting with a lower level of well-being, control counts are likely to be higher than Reiki-treated bacterial counts. For practitioners starting with a higher level of well-being, Reiki counts are likely to be higher than control counts. Although practitioners with control counts greater than Reiki have lower well-being scores initially, both groups improve to the same level of well-being at post-test.
Conclusion: Changes in Reiki practitioners’ well-being correlate with the outcome of Reiki on bacterial culture growth.
Supported by National Institutes of Health P20 AT00774-01. Qualitative Resea

Becoming an Energy Healer: A qualitative exploration
Deogracia Cornelio, Sara L. Warber, Michigan Integrative Medicine, University of Michigan, and Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan
Objective: To elucidate the concepts and processes related to becoming a biofield energy healer.
Materials and Methods: Nineteen participants were selected to represent a variety of energy healing modalities from a Midwestern U.S. metropolitan area. Semi-structured interviews elicited their descriptions of healing theory and practice. Interview transcripts were qualitatively analyzed to identify recurrent themes, conceptual categories and relationships. They were reviewed and validated by a second investigator.
Results: The healer and client enter the healing space and are defined anew as partners, as agents, as energy entities. The ability to help others heal is achieved through an “awareness” of and “an openness” to energy. The healer’s role is one of “facilitator” of the client’s own ability to heal, a “conduit” for the energy. Healers talk of “holding” clients in a “sacred” space of “deep love and compassion” to “meet the client where he or she is” and “work with them.” Thus, they must reach a state characterized by clear “intent.” This state demands a practice of self-care and self-management, which bring the healer to embody important aspects of their definition of energy, health and ethical practice. The healer’s identity is one of “living the practice.”
Conclusion: Becoming an energy healer extends beyond formal training and into the development of a cohesive practice informed by a complex system of beliefs and the principles of their traditions. It includes mentorship, overarching philosophical explorations and ongoing self-regulation. The healer state and identity are defined by what is conducive to health and promotes healing.
Funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.

The Effect of Reiki on the Immune System
Wendy Hodsdon, Elissa Mendenhall, Rebeccas Green, Sara Kates-Chinnoy, Elizabeth Wacker, and Heather Zwickey; Helfgott Research Institue at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Portland, OR, 97201
Objectives: Although energy medicines such as Reiki have been shown to have an overall effect on health, the mechanisms by which energy medicine act are currently unknown. This study examines the effects of Reiki on cellular immunity.
Materials And Methods: Two protocols have been used. The first protocol randomized people subjects into 3 groups: Reiki, relaxation control, or neither Reiki nor relaxation control. Blood was drawn before treatment, immediately following treatment, or 4 hours post treatment. The second protocol exposed each subject to each treatment through the following process: blood draw, relaxation, blood draw, Reiki, blood draw. In both studies, white blood cells were isolated using ficoll blood tubes and stained with markers for CD4 and CD8 T-cells, B-cells, NK-cells and macrophages. All the cells were stained with an early activation marker (CD69) to measure activation. A flow cytometer was used to quantitate amount of activation of each cell type. In the second protocol, heart math was also used to measure general mental-emotional state.
Results: While this study is ongoing, preliminary results indicate an increase in cell activation in the group of each cell type. In the second protocol, heart math was also used to measure general mental-emotional state.
Conclusions: Our study shows a white cell activation (most likely macrophages) in patients receiving Reiki. These results provide the basis for further study of the immunological effects of energy medicine.
 

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The following abstracts were obtained from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nccam/camonpubmed.html

Annals of Internal Medicine   2000 Jun 6;132(11):903-10
Healing touch: applications in the acute care setting.   Umbreit A.W.

Fairview University Medical Center , Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Nursing has been dedicated throughout its history to addressing the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the patient that influence the healing process. Current nursing practice in acute care is focused increasingly on monitoring equipment, giving medications, and administering medical treatments in a fast-paced environment that affords few opportunities for the deeper human connectedness between the nurse and the one who is ill and suffering. Healing touch (HT) is an energy-based complementary therapy fostering that nurse-patient connection. Nurses are beginning to use HT with their patients to assist in easing pain and anxiety, promote relaxation, accelerate wound healing, diminish depression, and increase a patient's sense of well-being. This article reports a conceptual framework for use of HT in acute care settings, describes specific HT techniques, and reviews numerous studies that have reported positive outcomes of HT as a noninvasive complementary therapy.   PMID: 11040557 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Complementary Therapies Nurs. Midwifery 2001 Feb;7(1):4-7
Working with survivors of torture in Sarajevo with Reiki.  Kennedy P., Reiki Master, Bearsden, Glasgow, UK.

While working as a nurse/therapist in Sarajevo, I had the opportunity to work in an experimental situation at a center for torture survivors. This was to see if the use of Reiki would have a beneficial effect on this type of patient. It involved a rethink on traditional Reiki hand positions, music, and the general set-up of the room being used. It was a challenge, and one I was delighted to have had. The people I worked with were wonderful, and the changes in them over the period were so positive. The staff at the Center were delighted; I was delighted; but so much more importantly, the patients were delighted. The ground has now been broken and hopefully will be considered in a positive light for other traumatized patients. PMID: 11855528 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 2000, 6(5): 64-76.
Surgery and Complementary Therapies: A Review.   Petry, J.J.

Abstract (AB): This journal article reviews the literature on the use of complementary therapies in the surgical setting. The first part looks at the effects of psychological stress on the surgical patient, and the influence of coping style and locus of control on surgical outcome and the choice of stress-reducing intervention. The second part reviews research into the effects of specific complementary strategies on surgical outcomes. These strategies include relaxation techniques, hypnosis and suggestion, imagery, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, Reiki, music, massage therapy, and herbs/supplements such as L-arginine, bromelain, garlic, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc. The evidence suggests that relaxation techniques, imagery, and hypnosis/suggestion may have beneficial effects on anxiety, blood loss, postoperative pain, pain medication requirements, postoperative nausea and vomiting, recovery of bowel function, length of hospital stay, cost of care, and patient satisfaction. These and other complementary therapies also may affect immune function, stress hormone levels, and wound healing, but more research is needed to clarify their role in the surgical setting. The article has 5 tables and 111 references.

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The following abstracts can also be found at http://www.terra.es/personal5/teramaireiki/reiki_research.html

Alternative Therapies , July 1997, Vol.3, No.4, pg.89
"The Efficacy of Reiki Hands-On Healing: Improvements in spleen and nervous system function as quantified by electrodermal screening". Brewitt, B, Vittetoe, T, & Hartwell, B.

Improvement in spleen, immune, and nervous system function were quantified by electrodermal screening, and a reduction of pain, an increase in relaxation, and more mobility was reported in patients with chronic conditions as multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, thyroid goiter.
 

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