Can Reiki Really Help Animals? Three Studies Worth a Closer Look
In 2021, a group of researchers in Brazil decided to investigate an unusual question: Could Reiki help dogs recovering from surgery?
The study involved thirty dogs undergoing routine spay procedures. Ten received Reiki, ten received simulated Reiki from someone who wasn’t a practitioner, and ten received no additional treatment. All thirty received conventional veterinary pain medication.
The results were interesting.
Dogs in the Reiki group had significantly lower pain scores at several points following surgery. But perhaps the most intriguing finding concerned the need for additional medication. Of the ten dogs receiving Reiki, not one required supplemental morphine. Three dogs in the untreated group did, as did four in the simulated-Reiki group.
It’s a small study, certainly. And it involved Reiki performed in person rather than at a distance. Still, the researchers found enough of a difference to suggest that Reiki deserved further investigation.
Read the 2021 study in Ciência Rural
But Does Reiki Work at a Distance?
For people unfamiliar with the practice, distance Reiki can be a difficult concept to grasp. Unlike massage or other forms of physical therapy, there’s no requirement for the practitioner and recipient to be in the same room. Practitioners work with the intention of sharing Reiki energy across whatever distance separates them.
It’s an idea that naturally invites skepticism. But researchers have investigated it.
In 2015, a study involving cancer patients in Turkey examined the effects of five distance Reiki sessions, each lasting thirty minutes. The patients continued receiving their usual medical care, but those who also received Reiki reported significantly lower levels of pain, stress, and fatigue than patients receiving conventional care alone.
Read the 2015 study in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Another study, published in 2023, examined distance Reiki among 62 patients undergoing kidney dialysis.
Half the participants received distance Reiki three times a week for four weeks, while the others continued their routine treatment.
Researchers reported significant improvements in fatigue and general comfort among the Reiki recipients. The improvement in fatigue scores was still present when the researchers followed up four weeks later.
Read the 2023 study in Explore
What Can We Take From These Studies?
It’s important not to read too much into individual studies. The research is still limited, and the distance Reiki trials described here didn’t include sham-Reiki control groups. That makes it difficult to determine whether Reiki itself was responsible for the reported improvements. Nor can we assume that results observed in humans will necessarily apply to animals.
Nevertheless, these studies offer some interesting observations. Reiki has been examined in clinical research, including randomized trials, and some researchers have reported measurable differences between treatment and comparison groups.
Whether those findings will hold up under larger, more rigorous studies remains to be seen. For now, they offer something worth exploring.
Press Pawz Animal Reiki — Compassionate Care, Anywhere.
Reiki is a complementary wellness practice, not a substitute for veterinary care.