Chronically ill patients experienced decreased symptoms from chronic illness.

A 1998 study randomly assigned 120 chronically ill patients who experienced pain to one of four groups: energy healing, muscle relaxation, false energy healing, or no-treatment. All of the patients had pain that had been present for at least one year. The initiating illnesses included headaches, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, ulcer, asthma, hypertension, and HIV infection. The three treatment groups all received ten 30-minute treatments. These were spaced twice a week for five weeks. The patients were assessed before and after the series of treatments using several pain and anxiety scales. The energy-healing group was also assessed three months later.

Comparing the pre- and post-treatment scores showed the energy healing sessions to be significantly better than the other treatments on 10 out of 12 variables. Three months later these changes remained consistent and there were further highly significant reductions in these patients’ total pain rating and in their sensory and affective qualities of pain. Within the energy healing group, depression decreased significantly more in the men than in the women. However, the women experienced greater increases in their spiritual connection.
(Subtle Energies, 1998.)