Trial reportJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2008
Reiki for the treatment of fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo?Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Reiki for depression and anxiety.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- [Complementary and alternative therapies for fibromyalgia syndrome. Systematic review, meta-analysis and guideline].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2012Guideline
- Reiki therapy for postoperative oral pain in pediatric patients: pilot data from a double-blind, randomized clinical trial.Complementary therapies in clinical practice · 2014Trial
- Biofield Therapies: Guidelines for Reporting Clinical Trials.Journal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2024Article
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Treat Fibromyalgia Symptoms. A Systematic Review.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Perceived Benefits of Magdalena Energy Healing Sessions: An Exploratory Study of Clients' Perspectives.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy.Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine · 2017Review
- Effect of Reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in adults: an in-depth literature review of randomized trials with effect size calculations.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2014Review
- Complementary therapies for fibromyalgia syndrome -- a rational approach.Current pain and headache reports · 2013Review
- Reiki and related therapies in the dialysis ward: an evidence-based and ethical discussion to debate if these complementary and alternative medicines are welcomed or banned.BMC nephrology · 2013Review
- Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of Implementing Reiki Training in a Supported Residence for People Older Than 50 Years with HIV/AIDS.The Permanente journal · 2011Article
- Biofield Therapies: Guidelines for Reporting Clinical Trials.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveFibromyalgia is a common, chronic pain condition for which patients frequently use complementary and alternative medicine, including Reiki. Our objective was to determine whether Reiki is beneficial as an adjunctive fibromyalgia treatment.
designThis was a factorial designed, randomized, sham-controlled trial in which participants, data collection staff, and data analysts were blinded to treatment group. SETTING/LOCATION: The study setting was private medical offices in the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area. SUBJECTS: The subjects were comprised 100 adults with fibromyalgia.
interventionFour (4) groups received twice-weekly treatment for 8 weeks by either a Reiki master or actor randomized to use direct touch or no touch (distant therapy). OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was subjective pain as measured by visual analog scale at weeks 4, 8, and 20 (3 months following end of treatment). Secondary outcomes were physical and mental functioning, medication use, and health provider visits. Participant blinding and adverse effects were ascertained by self-report. Improvement between groups was examined in an intention-to-treat analysis.
resultsNeither Reiki nor touch had any effect on pain or any of the secondary outcomes. All outcome measures were nearly identical among the 4 treatment groups during the course of the trial.
conclusionNeither Reiki nor touch improved the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Energy medicine modalities such as Reiki should be rigorously studied before being recommended to patients with chronic pain symptoms.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.