A conceptual term in biofield-therapy and complementary-medicine literature for a hypothesised energy field surrounding and permeating the body. NCCIH-recognised research term; physical existence remains an explanatory model rather than a confirmed phenomenon.
"Biofield" is the umbrella term used in complementary-medicine research literature for the hypothesised energy field surrounding and permeating the body. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) recognises the term as a research category covering Reiki, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, External Qigong, Johrei, and related modalities.
The conceptual framing draws on traditional medicine systems (qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine, prana in Ayurvedic medicine, mana in Pacific traditions) that describe a vital energy. The term "biofield" was coined in the 1990s as a research-oriented term that allowed scientific study of these traditions without committing to specific traditional metaphysical frameworks.
Physical existence: the biofield as a discrete physical field has not been measured directly with current scientific instruments. Some research has documented small electromagnetic fields generated by biological processes (heart rhythm, neural activity) but has not isolated a "biofield" distinct from these baseline physiological signals.
Clinical effects: biofield therapies produce measurable effects on autonomic regulation (cortisol, respiration, heart rate variability), pain ratings, anxiety scores, and quality of life. These effects are well-documented across the 2025 JICM 353-study scoping review. The effects are real even though the explanatory model remains a hypothesis.
The honest scientific framing: "biofield therapies produce moderate clinical effects through mechanisms that include autonomic regulation, therapeutic relationship, and possibly modality-specific factors. The biofield as a discrete physical phenomenon remains an explanatory model rather than a confirmed entity."
This framing matters for practitioners and patients. The therapies work for symptom management; the effects are real; the underlying mechanism is partly understood; the metaphysical framing varies across traditions and remains an area of ongoing inquiry.
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.
The placebo effect is real, measurable, and accounts for part of what energy healing does. The 2017 Baldwin Reiki RCT and the 2017 McManus review found effects above sham conditions. The honest answer is "partly placebo, partly mechanism, partly relationship."
Glossary31 terms covering modalities, mechanisms, and conditions