Reiki

Reiki^[a] is a pseudoscientific form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine originating in Japan.^[1] Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which, according to practitioners, a "universal energy" is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the client, to encourage emotional or physical healing. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force, although there is no empirical evidence that such a life force exists.^[2]^[3]

Reiki is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles.^[2]^[3] The marketing of reiki has been described as "fraudulent misrepresentation",^[3] and itself as a "nonsensical method",^[4] with a recommendation that the American government agency NCCAM should stop funding reiki research because it "has no substantiated health value and lacks a scientifically plausible rationale".^[5]

Clinical research does not show reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition, including cancer,^[6]^[7] diabetic neuropathy,^[8] anxiety or depression.^[9] There is no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to placebo. Studies reporting positive effects have had methodological flaws.^[2]

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