Reiki Comparable to Physiotherapy for Intervertebral Disc Herniation

by | Jul 19, 2018 | 2018, Alternative Therapies, Bone Health

Written by Angeline A. De Leon, Staff Writer. Reiki, a cost-effective and safe alternative treatment, while equivalent to physiotherapy in pain reduction and ADL score improvement, was significantly more effective than drug therapy in the participating subjects with intervertebral disc herniation.

bone healthOne of the most common causes of lower back pain is intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH), a condition involving a rupture or tear of the connective tissue separating the individual vertebrae of the spine 1. Treatment for chronic lumbar pain can include surgery, drug therapy, or most commonly, physiotherapy, a method which uses a combination of heat therapy, lower back exercises, and low-frequency vibrations targeting the lumbar region to relieve pain 2. In terms of nonsurgical procedures for chronic pain treatment, an alternative, biofield-based therapy known as Reiki is gaining recognition for its ability to support mental as well as physical recovery 3,4. Recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for pain relief, Reiki is rooted in the theory of energy fields and emphasizes the importance of energy realignment for optimal health 5. Typical sessions involve either direct touch or energy healing from a distance. Studies looking at Reiki therapy demonstrate therapeutic benefits for various conditions, including anxiety, osteoarthritis, blood pressure, and sleep disorders 5 1. Less studied, however, are the effects of distance Reiki on pain management. Thus, researchers in Iran published an exploratory study comparing the effects of distance Reiki vs. physiotherapy on the lower back pain and daily functioning of patients with IVDH.

The randomized clinical trial involved a total of 60 patients (average age = 45.35 years) who were diagnosed with IVDH by an orthopedic surgeon. All subjects underwent drug therapy (involving ingestion of 75 mg indomethacin and 500 mg methocarbamol every 8 hours daily for one week) and were randomly categorized into one of three groups: Reiki (receiving three 15-minute distance energy-healing sessions performed by a certified Reiki master), physiotherapy (receiving 7 to 10 sessions of physiotherapy using a combination of heat therapy, electrical nerve stimulation, and physical exercises lasting 60 to 90 minutes per session), or drug therapy only (control). Prior to and following intervention, severity of pain was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and to evaluate independent daily functioning, the Activities of Daily Living-Instrumental questionnaire was administered.

Although no significant difference was detected between Reiki and physiotherapy for pain severity and ADL scores, significant improvements were observed for the Reiki group, relative to drug therapy, in terms of pain intensity [f(2, 57) = 0.78, p = 0.002] and ADL [f(2, 57) = 0.65, p = 0.011]. For the Reiki group, pain scores were seen to diminish over the course of treatment from 8.20 +/- 1.36 to 3.80 +/- 1.47, while ADL showed improvement from 62.20 +/-14.24 to 77.60 +/-9.96.

Based on findings, Reiki, even when not performed directly on the patient, appears to be a useful complementary therapy for improving pain management and daily functioning in patients with chronic lumbar pain. Besides being safe and cost-effective, Reiki demonstrated therapeutic efficacy that was greater than even that of traditional drug therapy. To confirm findings, future studies using a sham control group and the blinding of subjects should be carried out.

Source: Jahantiqh F, Abdollahimohammad A, Firouzkouhi M, et al. Effects of reiki versus physiotherapy on relieving lower back pain and improving activities daily living of patients with intervertebral disc hernia. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine. 2018; 23: 1-5. DOI: 10.1177/2525690XI8762745.

© The Author(s) 2018 under the Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Posted July 19, 2018.

 

Angeline A. De Leon, MA, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2013, where she studied clinical neuroscience within an integrative health program. Her specialized area of research involves the complementary use of neuroimaging and neuropsychology-based methodologies to examine how lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and meditation, can influence brain plasticity and enhance overall connectivity.
 

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