- Pain Medicine FAQs
- Pain Management Resources
- Self-Management for Chronic Pain
- Neck, Back, and Spine Pain Management
- Hip Pain Management
- Types Of Pain
- Shoulder Physical Therapy
- Shoulder Pain Treatment
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- Neuropathic pain
- Mobility Issues
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- Knee (Patellar) Tendonitis
- Knee Physical Treatment
- Knee pain
- Joint Physical Therapy
- What is Joint Pain ?
- Benefits of Yoga for Pain Management
- Reiki for Pain Management
- Benefits of guided imagery for pain management
- Acupuncture for Pain Management
Chronic or acute pain can have a negative impact on many aspects of life. Pain can cause anxiety, stress, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, decreased mobility, and impairment of functioning. Chronic pain can also lead to mental disorders such as depression.
While effective in many cases, medication for pain can cause side effects that are undesirable or even dangerous. Non-pharmaceutical pain management treatments are becoming more popular. Reiki is a pain-management treatment that does not involve drugs or surgery.
What is Reiki?
The ancient Japanese developed Reiki as an alternative medical technique. Sometimes it's called biofield therapy. Reiki is a healing technique that channels energy from the Reiki practitioner, also known as a healer or practitioner, to the patient. The goal is to reduce stress, fatigue, and pain while increasing energy. The Reiki theory is that Reiki opens an energy path between the practitioner, also called a healer or practitioner, and the patient. This allows healing energy to flow and restore the patient mentally and physically.
Reiki practitioners transfer energy by moving their hands lightly over the body or without touching it. This therapy, which is low-touch or non-touch, can have significant benefits and little negative side effects.
Pain has an emotional component
Pain is more than a physical condition. Pain has an emotional component that cannot be ignored. When people deal with the emotional aspect of pain, they can increase their pain tolerance and reduce their pain perception. In the Journal Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, an article titled Psychological Aspect of pain was published. The authors found a strong correlation between depression and pain symptoms and also between pain and suicidal feelings. The authors explained that people who suffer from long-term pain tend to have higher levels of depression and anxiety. They also noted that the reverse is true - those with severe anxiety or depression are more likely to experience pain.
Often, it is difficult to determine whether mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are a result of chronic pain, or if depression and anxiety cause increased pain. There is a connection. Studies have shown that addressing emotional and mental aspects of pain has a significant impact on the perception of and tolerance for pain.
How can Reiki reduce pain perception?
Reiki can help reduce pain perception by healing emotional pain. Reiki helps to relieve emotional distress through a free flow of healing energy throughout the entire body. This leads to relaxation, reduced pain and tension and a reduction in stress. It can reduce anxiety and stress, which in turn can help to decrease pain perception.
Researchers have proven the effectiveness of Reiki in pain relief
The International Journal of Behavioral Medicine has published an article that reviews 66 clinical studies about biofield therapies such as Reiki. Julie Kusiak is a Reiki Practitioner at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. She works within the Integrative Medicine Department. She spoke about the article and said that a review of various studies showed that biofield therapy helps reduce pain intensity. Kusiak referred to a review that included 24 studies, which found that touch therapies were effective in reducing pain. Reiki was the touch therapy with the greatest success.
Kusiak pointed out that the studies revealed Reiki treatments reduced anxiety and pain, decreased fatigue, improved life quality, and even helped people reduce depression during various medical treatments including:
- Colonoscopy
- Abdominal hysterectomy
- Cancer Treatment
Reiki can help people in pain who cannot tolerate or are not able to touch.
Pain Management at Beaumont
Beaumont's Centers for Pain Medicine uses the latest technology to treat patients suffering from all types of pain. Our holistic approach is tailored to each patient's specific pain managementย needs.