Distant Reiki for Phantom Pain: yet another phoney study that misleads patients

Phantom pain (pain felt in an amputated limb) affects the lives of individuals in many ways and can negatively affect the well-being of individuals. Distant Reiki is sometimes used in the management of these problems. But does it work?

This study was conducted to examine the effect of distant Reiki applied to individuals  suffering from phantom pain on:

1) pain level,

2) holistic well-being.

This study was designed as a single group pre-test/post-test comparison. The research was conducted between September 2022 and April 2023 and included 25 individuals with extremity amputations. Distant Reiki was performed for 20 minutes every day for 10 days. Data were collected at the beginning of the study and at the end of the 10th day. The measurements included an Introductory Information Form, the Visual Analog Scale for Pain, and Holistic Well-Being Scale (HWBS).

The results show that there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test pain levels of the participants (p < .05) and HWBS subscale scores (p < .05). Accordingly, it was determined that after 20-minute distant Reiki sessions for 10 consecutive days, the pain levels of the individuals were significantly reduced and their holistic well-being improved.

The authors concluded that distant Reiki has been found to be easy to administer, inexpensive, non-pharmacological, and appropriate for independent nursing practice to be effective in reducing phantom pain levels and increasing holistic well-being in people with limb amputation.

Yes, I agree that Reiki might have been easy to administer.

I also agree that it is inexpensive and non-pharmacological.

I disagree, however that it is an appropriate therapy for an independent nursing practice.

And I disagree even more that this study shows or even suggests that Reiki is effective.

Why?

You probably kow the reason: this study had no control group. The observed outcomes can have several explanations that are unrelated to Reiki. For instance, the 200 minutes of attention, empathy and encouragement are likely to have generated an impact.

My conclusion: it is high time that researchers, peer-reviewers, editors, etc. stop trying to mislead the public with offensively poor-quality research and false conclusions. Reiki is an utterly implausible therapy for which no sound evidence exist.