Per-study breakdown from the 2024 BMC Palliative Care meta-analysis of Reiki for anxiety. Covers 13 randomised controlled trials totalling 824 patients across pre-procedural anxiety, post-surgical anxiety, fibromyalgia, and chronic-condition anxiety contexts.
The strongest single piece of evidence for Reiki on anxiety. The 2024 meta-analysis identified 13 RCTs covering 824 patients and found significant impact on anxiety scores, particularly for short-term protocols of 1 to 3 sessions and procedural-anxiety contexts.
This dataset breaks the meta-analysis down per-study so clinicians and researchers can see which clinical contexts had the strongest effects, the protocol parameters used, and the comparison conditions.
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| study_label | string | Author, year identifier |
| clinical_context | string | Setting (pre-endoscopy, post-cesarean, fibromyalgia, etc.) |
| sample_size | integer | Total participants |
| session_count | integer | Number of Reiki sessions |
| session_duration_min | integer | Duration per session in minutes |
| comparison | string | Comparison condition (sham Reiki, standard care, no treatment) |
| anxiety_outcome_measure | string | Specific anxiety scale used (STAI, HAM-A, etc.) |
| effect_size_smd | number | Standardised mean difference effect size |
Effect sizes are study-level estimates from the original meta-analysis. Pooled effect across all 13 studies is significant and reported in the published paper.
EFT tapping has 56 randomised controlled trials with moderate-to-large effect sizes for anxiety. Reiki shows significant impact on anxiety in a 2024 meta-analysis covering 824 patients across 13 studies.
A 2025 scoping review covered 353 biofield therapy studies, including 255 randomised controlled trials. The honest answer is more interesting than yes or no. Effects are real, moderate, and smaller than first-line treatment for most conditions.