Biofield therapies: helpful or full of hype? A best evidence synthesis
DATE
2010
AUTHORS
Jain S1, Mills PJ.
REFERENCE
Int J Behav Med. 2010 Mar;17(1):1-16.
doi: 10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816237/
METHODOLOGY
This systematic review examines 66 clinical studies with a variety of biofield therapies in different patient populations. Reiki was used in 10 studies
This was a quality assessment as well as a best evidence synthesis approach to examine evidence for biofield therapies in relevant outcomes for different clinical populations.
RESULTS AND COMMENTS
Studies overall are of medium quality, and generally meet minimum standards for validity of inferences. Biofield therapies show strong evidence for reducing pain intensity in pain populations, and moderate evidence for reducing pain intensity hospitalized and cancer populations. There is moderate evidence for decreasing negative behavioral symptoms in dementia and moderate evidence for decreasing anxiety for hospitalized populations. There is equivocal evidence for biofield therapies’ effects on fatigue and quality of life for cancer patients, as well as for comprehensive pain outcomes and affect in pain patients, and for decreasing anxiety in cardiovascular patients.
There is no results for individual therapies and therefore no results specific to Reiki.
