Energy medicine

Energy medicine is one of five domains of “complementary and alternative medicine” identified by the National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA.^[1]

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Background

The NIH report identifies two broad categories of energy medicine, veritable and putative.

Veritable energy medicine

Veritable energy therapies employ mechanical vibrations (such as sound) and electromagnetic forces, including visible light, magnetism, monochromatic radiation (such as laser beams), and rays from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. They involve the use of specific, measurable wavelengths and frequencies to treat patients.

Many of the body’s electrical systems and electromagnetic fields are well-known, readily verified, and a focus of established interventions. The application of lasers and magnetic pulsation, for instance, can be described in terms of specific, measurable wavelengths and frequencies that have been found to be therapeutic (for example, transcranial magnetic stimulation). Other therapies based on veritable energy (such as magnetic therapy) remain controversial and enjoy little mainstream support . ^[1]

Putative energy medicine

Energy medicine involving putative energy is based on the supposition that illness results from disturbances in (undetectable or unquantifiable) energies and energy fields and can be addressed via interventions into those energies and energy fields ^[2]. Due to the lack of quantifiable evidence of these purported energies, therapies based on putative energy are more controversial.

These postulated energies are claimed to be of a more subtle nature and have not been directly measured by reproducible methods. Healing Touch, Reiki, and qi gong, for instance, purportedly influence subtle energies in ways that have not been detected by mechanical devices, and their reported therapeutic actions are not well-understood within conventional paradigms ^[3] Some practitioners of these methods, however, claim that they “can work with this subtle energy, see it with their own eyes, and use it to effect changes in the physical body and influence health” ^[1]

The practice of putative energy medicine dates back at least 5,000 years. A mummified body from around 3000 B.C. had tattoos on exactly the points that are indicated in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treating the kind of lumbar spine arthritis revealed by an x-ray analysis of the body. Meanwhile, the term "energy medicine" has been in general use since the founding of the non-profit International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine in the 1980s and was further defined by two books, each titled Energy Medicine, one which is a guide for practitioners ^[4] and one which surveys existing research evidence ^[5]

A recent investigation by the Seattle Times found that thousands of devices claiming to utilise energy medicine — many of them illegal or dangerous — were used in hundreds of venues across the United States. The newspaper described energy medicine as "21st-Century Snake Oil". ^[6]

Varieties of energy medicine

Energy medicine is a comprehensive term for practices that include, but are not limited to:

• Acupuncture and acupressure, laser therapy, light therapy, magnetic therapy, qi gong, energy psychology, Reiki, Johrei, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, Touch for Health, Applied Kinesiology, Emotional Freedom Techniques, NAET, Tapas Acupressure Technique, Brennan Healing Science, Eden Energy Medicine, distant healing, intuitive medicine, and intercessory prayer.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} National Institutes of Health (2005). NIH Energy medicine: overview.
2. ^ Feinstein, D., & Eden D. (2007). Six Pillars of Energy Medicine. 
3. ^ Feinstein, D. (2007). Energy Psychology: Theory, Methods, Evidence. 
4. ^ Eden, D. (1998). Energy Medicine. 
5. ^ Oschman, J. (2000). Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. 
6. ^ Miracle Machines:The 21st-Century Snake Oil.

See also

• Electromagnetic Therapy
• Energy (spirituality)
• Reiki
• Quantum-Touch
• Laying on of hands
• Reiki
• Healing Touch by Janet Mentgen
• Polarity therapy