Is Reiki a Placebo? – Part 1
By nature Reiki is very intangible. So in a series of blog articles I will try to explore how Reiki works and what the scientific research says.
For me Reiki is merely a modern name for an ancient healing practice. Which is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, we are run down and then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The benefits of Reiki
- Help some people to feel deeply relaxed
- Help people cope with difficult situations
- Relieve emotional stress and tension
- Help to improve overall wellbeing
- Help alleviate pain & anxiety
My personal belief about how Reiki works, is that I act as a channel for Reiki energy and the client must be open to receiving it as the Reiki energy cannot “force” itself on to anyone. As humans have free-will this means a client can block it if they consciously choose too. The Reiki energy is then a resource that the human body can use to heal itself.
So is Reiki just Placebo?
A placebo is anything that seems to be a “real” medical treatment — but isn’t i.e. it is fake. The judgement is based on the availability of scientific evidence. Dame Carol Black (– a former President of the Royal College of Physicians and of the Academy of Royal Colleges) and a group of distinguished doctors and scientists at the Kings Fund has concluded that current assumptions about what constitutes good scientific evidence for complementary therapies are too narrow.
Professor Stephen Holgate who is also a member of the Kings Fund said:
“As scientists, we have often sneered at the placebo effect. But as doctors, we know it can have a real impact on the outcomes of treatment for our patients. What is it, after all, but a trigger to the body’s natural ability to heal itself? That is something worth encouraging.”
I am a firm believer in the body’s ability to heal itself. As the aim of all complementary therapies is to stimulate the body to heal itself, they could all be considered placebo. This is probably especially true of Reiki due to the fact that it has not been well studied scientifically. The limited studies have not gathered enough evidence to “prove” Reiki energy exists, but this is not the same as proving it doesn’t exist.
For me, it makes more sense to assess the impact of Reiki and Reiki energy. After all if you can assess the impact of the energy then it must exist. And as to, is it a placebo? If the Reiki energy has an impact, it must exist, and it can’t be a placebo because its having an impact.
So in my next blog I will at the scientific evidence on the impact of Reiki.
Related Posts
So how does massage help “tired” muscles?
Many clients come to our clinics a few days after vigorous work outs or competing in sporting competition because their legs feel tried or heavy. These clients often book a sports massage, but is their any scientific evidence to explain what is happening in the body during the treatment? Massage dilates superficial blood vessels and increases the rate of blood flow. In addition if a deeper pressure is used like in sports or deep tissue massage on a healthy adult it improves the venous return. Both of these changes to the blood flow represent a potent means to accelerate healing. For example, it suggests that massage should improve the performance of fatigued muscles. In addition, Goats asserts that massaged muscle fibres display less spasm, an increased force of contraction and enhanced endurance compared with muscles simply rested. Which suggests that massage will assist in the improvement of sporting performance where it has been compromised. References Scull CD (1945) Massage - Physiologic Basis. Archive of Physical Medicine 26: 159-67 Wilkins RW, Halperin MH, Litter J. (1950) The effects of various physical procedures on circulation in human limbs. Ann Intern Med 33: 1232-45 Goats GC (1994) Massage - the scientific basis of an ancient art: part 2. Physiological and therapeutic effects Br J Sp Med 28(3)
Starve a fever?
There is an old wives saying, feed a cold and starve a fever, but what does the latest science say? Although eating less when we are ill can sometimes help us to recover faster. The loss of appetite when we have an infection is a biological "trick" that simply allows bacteria to spread. Eating nutritious food when we have an infection can reduce its severity and recover time say researchers. Researchers have tracked the health of laboratory mice infected with the Salmonella bacteria and found that natural loss of appetite helped the bacteria spread from the intestines to other tissues. By comparison, mice fed extra calories lived longer. This discovery could lead to new ways to tackle bacterial infections that don't rely on antibiotics. Reference Rao, Shelia et al, 2017, Pathogen-Mediated Inhibition of Anorexia Promotes Host Survival and Transmission, Cell, Volume 168, Issue 3, 503 - 516
Do you have tight hips? – Part 2
I know many of my clients sit at a desk for very long hours which can lead to tight hips. So in this post I want to show you how to stretch them.
How to stretch your hips
Single knee hugging Lying on your back, grab your right knee and pull it toward your chest until you feel a stretch. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the left side. Bilateral knee hugging Lying on your back, grab both knees and pull them toward your chest. Hold for 20 seconds. "Cobra pose" Lie face down on the floor, hands parallel to your shoulders. Straighten your arms, lifting your upper torso off the floor. Your lower back should be arched, with your pelvis making contact with the floor. Hold for 20 seconds, then lower yourself back down Hip flexion with abduction/adduction Lying on your back, bring one knee up toward your chest. Holding your knee with both hands, roll your knee from one side to the other for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. External hip rotation Lying on your back, pull your right knee toward your chest. Place your right hand on the knee and your left hand on the ankle. Gently pull your right ankle in the direction of your head. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on your left leg. Internal hip rotation Lying face down, bend your knees 90 degrees and let your feet fall outward. Hold for 30 seconds. If after trying these stretches you are still strugling with tight hips why not book a deep tissue massage.
