Is Reiki a recommended primary treatment for medical conditions?

Reiki Should Not Be Used as a Primary Treatment for Medical Conditions

Reiki is not recommended as a primary treatment for any medical condition due to insufficient evidence of effectiveness beyond placebo effects. Multiple high-quality guidelines consistently conclude that Reiki lacks adequate evidence to support its use as a standalone medical intervention.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Cancer-Related Symptoms

• The American College of Chest Physicians (2013) found insufficient evidence to recommend Reiki for cancer pain management, noting that while biofield therapies including Reiki showed moderate evidence for pain reduction, the evidence base remains inadequate for formal recommendations 1.
• ASCO/Society for Integrative Oncology (2018,2023) explicitly states there is insufficient evidence to recommend Reiki for anxiety, stress reduction, depression, fatigue, quality of life, or pain in breast cancer patients and other cancer populations 1.

Neuropathic Pain

• The American Academy of Neurology (2011) recommends that Reiki should probably not be considered for treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy (Level B recommendation), based on Class I evidence demonstrating lack of effectiveness 1.

Chronic Multisymptom Illness

• The VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline (2022) found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against Reiki in patients with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, or chronic fatigue syndrome 1.

Evidence Quality Assessment

The research evidence reveals critical methodological limitations:

• A 2008 systematic review of 9 RCTs concluded that "the evidence is insufficient to suggest that reiki is an effective treatment for any condition" and noted that most trials suffered from small sample sizes, inadequate study design, and poor reporting 2.
• A 2009 systematic review found that 11 of 12 Reiki studies ranked "poor" on the Jadad Quality score, with serious methodological and reporting limitations precluding definitive conclusions about effectiveness 3.
• A 2022 systematic review examining mental health outcomes found only low to moderate quality evidence for some conditions, with most studies having "some concern" for risk of bias 4.

Clinical Context and Safety

While Reiki appears generally safe with no serious adverse effects reported 5:

• It should never replace evidence-based medical treatments for any condition requiring primary medical intervention 1.
• Healthcare providers should assess and document CAM use including Reiki as part of comprehensive cancer care, but not recommend it as primary treatment 1.
• Reiki may be considered as an adjunctive complementary therapy only in specific contexts where patients desire additional supportive care alongside conventional treatment 1.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do not recommend Reiki as monotherapy for depression, anxiety, pain, or any medical condition requiring evidence-based treatment 1.
• Do not assume Reiki has specific therapeutic effects beyond placebo given the lack of high-quality evidence demonstrating superiority over sham treatments 2, 3.
• Ensure patients understand that Reiki is not a substitute for conventional medical care and should only be used, if at all, as a complementary approach 1.