Reiki Healing in USA

 The National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, says Reiki appears to be generally safe and no serious side effects have been reported. It also says more than 2.2 million U.S. adults have used it.

Among Reiki's fans are cardiac surgeon and TV show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, who recently urged viewers to try it. "This alternative medicine treatment can manipulate your energy and cure what ails you,"

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Dr. Scott Treatman, Crouse's director of employee health, said Crouse's patient surveys suggest Reiki helps patients.

Crouse surveyed 390 patients, who received Reiki between January, 2008, and December, 2009. Patients were asked to rank their stress levels before and after treatments on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being no stress and 5 being high stress. They also ranked their pain before and after treatments. The average patient's stress score was 2.77 before Reiki and .97 after Reiki. The average patient's pain score was .99 before Reiki and .78 after.

"The evidence, although it's not in peer-reviewed journals, speaks for itself," Treatman said. "We're not only in the business of yanking out gallbladders, but also making the patients' experience here more comfortable."

Michael North, a chronic pain patient at the VA Medical Centre, swears by Reiki.

North, 54, of Tully, suffers from pain related to lower back and neck problems. The U.S. Coast Guard veteran has had three surgeries over the past 24 years.

North has tried painkillers, but they don't help. He said he has a hard time relaxing. North said Reiki is the only thing that eases his anxiety. He got his first treatment in 2001 from Nancy J. Barnum, a nurse practitioner in the VA's pain clinic.

"Within a matter of minutes after barely touching my forehead, all of a sudden it felt like every problem just flushed out of me," North said. "I couldn't believe it."

Barnum said learning how to relax is a key strategy for chronic pain patients like North. Medication, behavioural therapy and other relaxation techniques don't work for some patients. For those people, alternatives like Reiki are sometimes more helpful, she said.

"If you can help someone to manage their stress level and induce more of a relaxation response, the pain becomes more bearable," Barnum said.

Reiki, long available in the community from private practitioners and through some medical practices, is gaining more traction in hospitals. A few nurses began offering Reiki at Crouse seven years ago. As patient interest in the alternative therapy increased the hospital formalized the program. "Administration said, 'If patients are benefiting from it, why would we not do it,'" said Bob Allen, a Crouse vice president.