The Evolution of Energy Medicine
National Center for Complementary Medicine
Teresa Frisch, RN, Reiki Master / Teacher 3.28.09
March 2009:
I wanted to provide you, the reader, with a quick snapshot of the NCCAM website. The National Institute of Health National Center for Complementary Medicine is contiually updating its website with research information. As an example, please note the bottom left of the page. The site was reviewed in October of 2004 and updated in March of 2007. However, the bottom right shows it was last modified on February 26, 2009. The NCCAM Clearinghouse provides information on CAM and NCCAM, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature.
October 2009
Energy Medicine
Energy therapies involve the use of energy fields. They are of two types:
Biofield therapies are intended to affect energy fields that purportedly surround and penetrate the human body. The existence of such fields has not yet been scientifically proven. Some forms of energy therapy manipulate biofields by applying pressure and/or manipulating the body by placing the hands in, or through, these fields. Examples include qi gong (A component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and controlled breathing. The intent is to improve blood flow and the flow of qi.), Reiki (A therapy in which practitioners seek to transmit a universal energy to a person, either from a distance or by placing their hands on or near that person. The intent is to heal the spirit and thus the body.), and Therapeutic Touch (A therapy in which practitioners pass their hands over another person's body with the intent to use their own perceived healing energy to identify energy imbalances and promote health).
Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies involve the unconventional use of electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, magnetic fields, or alternating-current or direct-current fields.
Revised: tlf 3.29.09
revised tlf 01.31.10
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