Reiki And Pain Management

Reiki is growing in hospitals and clinics rapidly as practitioners seek natural alternatives to help their patients recover from surgery, injuries, deal with stress, depression or to minimize pain from chronic diseases. Reiki is a method for using universal life force to heal the self and others. Reiki is typically administered “hands on” while the patient remains clothed. The practitioner simply rests his hands directly on key locations of the patient’s body, applying little or no pressure. Reiki focuses on seven main energy centers, called chakras, in your body. The energy should flow freely through your chakras in order for you to be spiritually, physically, and mentally healthy. Practitioners believe that if energy paths are blocked, you may feel ill or weak or have pain. For most people, Reiki is experienced as a warm, relaxing, glowing or tingling sensation. Typical sessions last from 45 to 60 minutes. It is not uncommon to use other therapies with a Reiki session as well. Reiki works to relieve energy blockages in the body, whether caused by physical, emotional or spiritual illness.

Reiki can be used in a number of situations: allergies, behavior modification, stress management, depression, even trauma and critical care. People use reiki to decrease pain, ease muscle tension, speed healing, and improve sleep. Reiki is sometimes used to help people who suffer from pain or discomfort from cancer or other diseases. But reiki is not used as a treatment for cancer or any other disease. Some people who have undergone chemotherapy treatment said they felt better and had less nausea after undergoing a reiki session. A Pain Management Reiki treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellness.

Reiki is a complementary therapy; it can be used with virtually all forms of therapy, conventional or otherwise. You must decide whether Reiki works for you. You cannot decide that based on intellectual knowledge alone. You must have practical experience. Every patient is different. Some respond well to conventional therapy; others require medication and counseling. Some need something else.

There are no drugs, drips or demands put upon an ill person, only a universal life energy doing what it knows best – healing.

Using Reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9765732