Clinical Studies of Biofield Therapies: Summary, Methodological Challenges, and Recommendations

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Abstract

Biofield therapies are noninvasive therapies in which the practitioner explicitly works with a client's biofield (interacting fields of energy and information that surround living systems) to stimulate healing responses in patients. While the practice of biofield therapies has existed in Eastern and Western cultures for thousands of years, empirical research on the effectiveness of biofield therapies is still relatively nascent. In this article, we provide a summary of the state of the evidence for biofield therapies for a number of different clinical conditions. We note specific methodological issues for research in biofield therapies that need to be addressed (including practitioner-based, outcomes-based, and research design considerations), as well as provide a list of suggested next steps for biofield researchers to consider.

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Most cited references 63

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Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007.

Patricia Barnes, Barbara E. Bloom, Richard Nahin (2008)

This report presents selected estimates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among U.S. adults and children, using data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Trends in adult use were assessed by comparing data from the 2007 and 2002 NHIS. Estimates were derived from the Complementary and Alternative Medicine supplements and Core components of the 2007 and 2002 NHIS. Estimates were generated and comparisons conducted using the SUDAAN statistical package to account for the complex sample design. In 2007, almost 4 out of 10 adults had used CAM therapy in the past 12 months, with the most commonly used therapies being nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (17.7%) and deep breathing exercises (12.7%). American Indian or Alaska Native adults (50.3%) and white adults (43.1%) were more likely to use CAM than Asian adults (39.9%) or black adults (25.5%). Results from the 2007 NHIS found that approximately one in nine children (11.8%) used CAM therapy in the past 12 months, with the most commonly used therapies being nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (3.9%) and chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (2.8%). Children whose parent used CAM were almost five times as likely (23.9%) to use CAM as children whose parent did not use CAM (5.1%). For both adults and children in 2007, when worry about cost delayed receipt of conventional care, individuals were more likely to use CAM than when the cost of conventional care was not a worry. Between 2002 and 2007 increased use was seen among adults for acupuncture, deep breathing exercises, massage therapy, meditation, naturopathy, and yoga. CAM use for head or chest colds showed a marked decrease from 2002 to 2007 (9.5% to 2.0%).

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Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey.

A Molassiotis, P. Fernadez-Ortega, D Pud … (2005)

The aim of this study was to explore the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients across a number of European countries. A descriptive survey design was developed. Fourteen countries participated in the study and data was collected through a descriptive questionnaire from 956 patients. Data suggest that CAM is popular among cancer patients with 35.9% using some form of CAM (range among countries 14.8% to 73.1%). A heterogeneous group of 58 therapies were identified as being used. Herbal medicines and remedies were the most commonly used CAM therapies, together with homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, medicinal teas, spiritual therapies and relaxation techniques. Herbal medicine use tripled from use before diagnosis to use since diagnosis with cancer. Multivariate analysis suggested that the profile of the CAM user was that of younger people, female and with higher educational level. The source of information was mainly from friends/family and the media, while physicians and nurses played a small part in providing CAM-related information. The majority used CAM to increase the body's ability to fight cancer or improve physical and emotional well-being, and many seemed to have benefited from using CAM (even though the benefits were not necessarily related to the initial reason for using CAM). Some 4.4% of patients, however, reported side-effects, mostly transient. It is imperative that health professionals explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision.

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The impact of patient expectations on outcomes in four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain.

Benno Brinkhaus, Klaus Linde, Andrea Streng … (2007)

In a pooled analysis of four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with migraine, tension-type headache, chronic low back pain, and osteoarthritis of the knee we investigated the influence of expectations on clinical outcome. The 864 patients included in the analysis received either 12 sessions of acupuncture or minimal (i.e. sham) acupuncture (superficial needling of non-acupuncture points) over an 8 week period. Patients were asked at baseline whether they considered acupuncture to be an effective therapy in general and what they personally expected from the treatment. After three acupuncture sessions patients were asked how confident they were that they would benefit from the treatment strategy they were receiving. Patients were classified as responders if the respective main outcome measure improved by at least fifty percent. Both univariate and multivariate analyses adjusted for potential confounders (such as condition, intervention group, age, sex, duration of complaints, etc.) consistently showed a significant influence of attitudes and expectations on outcome. After completion of treatment, the odds ratio for response between patients considering acupuncture an effective or highly effective therapy and patients who were more sceptical was 1.67 (95% confidence interval 1.20-2.32). For personal expectations and confidence after the third session, odds ratios were 2.03 (1.26-3.26) and 2.35 (1.68-3.30), respectively. Results from the 6-month follow-up were similar. In conclusion, in our trials a significant association was shown between better improvement and higher outcome expectations.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Shamini Jain

Richard Hammerschlag

Paul Mills

Lorenzo Cohen

Richard Krieger

Cassandra Vieten

Susan Lutgendorf

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Glob Adv Health Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Glob Adv Health Med

Journal ID (publisher-id): gahmj

Title: Global Advances in Health and Medicine

Publisher: Global Advances in Health and Medicine

ISSN (Print): 2164-957X

ISSN (Electronic): 2164-9561

Publication date (Print): November 2015

Publication date (Electronic): 01 November 2015

Volume: 4

Issue: Suppl , Biofield Science and Healing: Toward a Transdisciplinary Approach

Pages: 58-66

Affiliations

Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego; and Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Diego; and Consciousness and Healing Initiative, San Diego (Dr Jain)

Consciousness and Healing Initiative, San Diego; and The Institute for Integrative Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Hammerschlag)

Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego; and Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Diego; and Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego (Dr Mills)

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (Dr Cohen)

Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California (Dr Krieger)

Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California; and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco (Dr Vieten)

Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California; and Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Urology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa, Iowa City (Dr Lutgendorf)

Author notes

Correspondence Shamini Jain sjain@ 123456ucsd.edu

Article

Publisher ID: gahmj.2015.034.suppl

DOI: 10.7453/gahmj.2015.034.suppl

PMC ID: 4654788

PubMed ID: 26665043

SO-VID: 32a311f2-919e-47d1-947f-fba62d27d692

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial- No Derivative 3.0 License, which permits rights to copy, distribute and transmit the work for noncommercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.

Clinical Studies of Biofield Therapies: Summary, Methodological Challenges, and Recommendations

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Most cited references 63

Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey.

The impact of patient expectations on outcomes in four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain.

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