Paul

Wise choice on bypassing the "quackademic" options like Reiki.
It's sad when people think just because a hospital offers them they are valid. While marketing executives put a happy face on it, the truth is that are considered "efficacious" if the patient likes them. As the AMA noted the discrepancy in what they say and what's really the reason: People like it and some will even pay full price for these even if no insurance company will ever.
[quote]Though 70% of executives at hospitals providing unconventional therapies said they are doing so because they are clinically effective, only 42% said they use patients' health outcomes to gauge the success of the alternative medicine programs. Instead, they are principally using patient satisfaction and volume as evaluation metrics, the report said. The programs were most often started by hospital administrators, with physicians championing the idea 20% of the time.

The alternative therapies are intended to supplement conventional medical interventions, Ananth said.

"Many of these services are low-risk," she said. "Patients are looking for the best of what both conventional and complementary therapies can offer, and hospitals are responding by offering these choices."

Patients usually pay for these services out of pocket, although hospitals offer them free 44% of the time, the report said. They usually are not covered by third-party payers[/quote]
[quote]One in five alternative-friendly hospitals provides Reiki, which the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine describes as a Japanese therapy in which "practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the person receiving treatment, with the goal of facilitating the person's own healing response." A systematic review of nine randomized controlled trials, which was published in the June 2008 International Journal of Clinical Practice, said, "The evidence is insufficient to suggest that Reiki is an effective treatment for any condition" [/quote]
Demand drives more hospitals to offer alternative therapies
Of course Quackwatch tells it candidly
Reiki Is Nonsense
As an old hippie, I have many old friends who became Reiki masters (just like Dr. Oz's wife) - it's all woo woo.
Charm

Thanks Charm. I'll try anything for free as complimentary treatment lol, but im not paying for it. Although, accupuncture was very effective for my sciatica 15 years ago, when nothing else worked.

Actually reiki is valuable even if it does nothing more for you than relax you and ease your mind.

Everyone acknowledges that any placebo is helpful to those who believe in it. But that does not make sugar pills "valuable".
I try my best to keep the OCF forum free of fake therapies and woo woo medicine like Reiki which is just a secular form of "faith healing"
Its important to speak the truth about these bogus "treatments' so that the forum members are not mislead especially when there are methods like Yoga or exercise that are clinically proven to work on even the most skeptical unlike placebos.
Charm

I'm sorry you feel so strongly against some of the alternate therapies. There is no risk to trying them and each person has their own outcomes whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally.

I had Reiki the last time I went through radiation and it helped me with relaxation and my sleep was wonderful. I always felt well rested those nights and I always woke up hungry the next morning.

Not everything is helpful to everyone, but I believe it is helpful to have an open mind.

You refer to "faith healing". In my opinion, when is it not a good idea to have a little faith?

Just my opinion....

As a side note, Acupuncture was the only thing that got my migraines under control when I was in my thirties.

Cindy

You are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts
The facts are that Reiki is a scam and false alternative to TX.
Faith is a very good thing, except when it's misplaced like Reiki proponents. There are plenty of cancer internet sites where "wide open minds" can extol Reiki, mexican clinics, german cures, crazy diets, whatever. I don't want to see OCF devolve into such an unreliable source of information.
I will concede that there is no risk to Reiki except to your financial well being and sense of logic or knowledge of physics.
Charm

sorry, bringing about fond memories and making me laugh Charm.


Cindy, on the OCF forums we pride ourselves on science based information and what can or can't be measured in scientific double blind studies. As you can imagine there are so many people that find these forums and try to sell patients on alternative treatments or scams. Charm is our diligent watchman and has a tendency to call things as research sees them really.

I will agree with you in that patients should do things that they find relaxes them and helps put their minds at ease, as these things lower the bodies cortisol levels, which is vital during and after treatment for far too many reasons to list here.

I was under the impression from the prior posts that we were originally referring to these treatments only as a complimentary treatment in addition to medical treatment. Not a replacement for it.

My hospital never touted them as a replacement, just an added relaxation option for the patient's well being.

Cindy

Obviously you are a true believer for whom this type of placebo works. That's great. Good for you.
Thanks for not linking directly to the crazy Reiki sites.
Since it's the hospital marketing executives who are really to blame here for catering to non scientific, documented ineffective but comforting techniques, I'm going to let Reiki drop. But a real massage, where someone actually touches you has been shown to really work, even for hard core skeptics like myself. Techniques that require the patient to believe in order to work are becoming increasingly popular.
No amount of science or proof is going to sway you and you have been very pleasant in your postings so not much point in continuing to try, especially since my primary concern, that Josh would waste his money has been satisfied
Charm

Actually no one knows for sure, what works and what doesn't (even in standard medicine - if we did there would be a 100% cure rate and this whole conversation would be moot) - I personally would balk at anyone suggesting dropping a medical treatment to replace it with something alternative, but something like reiki, and even theta is therapeudic as a complimentary treatment - and it's noninvasive and harmless (except to your wallet). In this vein of thinking I say do. what you can. As a point in fact I believe me Anderson offers reiki. Why? Unless it has some value.. Even if it's merely psychological.

Acupuncture is in a class by iteself and is a valid complimenatry treatment. it helped immensely post treatment for me and Asian medicine uses it integratively in hospitals as a form of pain control, (when I was in nursing school they actually showed a video of a Chinese woman going into the OR for a hysterectomy, she walked into the room they used a few acupuncture needles she was conscious through the entire surgery and she walked out of the OR - apparently where they placed the needles deadens the nerves for up to 24 hours - or something - less pain, less stress on the body, better faster healing),.I would be careful using it during treatments as it does open you up to infection, (anything that pierces the skin does - sterile or not) but after it is great... Much like massage.

Anything that requires suppliments other than protein I would check out with your drs first - just in case there are problems with interactions - but integrative alternative medicine is becoming very popular In a lot of the well known - and top CCCs.

Hugs.