A key Center for Reiki Research (CRR) membership benefit is instant access to more than one hundred Reiki research study summaries demonstrating Reiki’s validity and efficacy.
The research study summaries are compiled by volunteer research professionals, using the Touchstone Process a uniquely rigorous peer review method for analyzing a group of scientific studies in a particular field. Its end product is a set of critical summaries derived from an impartial and consistent process.
CRR only considers studies published in peer-reviewed journals, as these have already gone through a process of professional scrutiny. Following expert review, cogent one-page summaries are prepared conveying the essential information in each article in an easily understandable and uniform way.
Take the 2017 Baldwin, AL, Vitale A, Brownell, E, Kryak, E, and Rand, W study “Effects of Reiki on pain, anxiety, and blood pressure in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery” for example.
Published in Holistic Nursing Practice, the study hypothesized Reiki would reduce post-operative pain, blood pressure, respiratory rate and anxiety. This was conceived as a three-group pilot study (15 patients per group), randomized and blinded. The method included a routine standard of care group, a Reiki group and, additionally, a sham Reiki group.
The results showed a statistically significant trend of pain reduction in the Reiki group not seen in either the standard of care group or sham Reiki Group. Only the Reiki group showed post-operative diminution in blood pressure and respiratory rate. The sham group showed a decrease in anxiety, but less than the group receiving Reiki.
This Institutional Review Board approved study is important due to its scientific rigor, and clear descriptions and analysis, with the data supporting the pursuit of a larger scale study.
Read the complete research summary here.
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