This study aimed to examine the effect of Reiki therapy on pain, functional status and holistic well-being in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Knee osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease that causes pain in individuals and negatively affects their functional status and overall well-being. Patients often benefit from non-pharmacological methods in pain control. Reiki, expressed as "universal life energy", is a kind of energy therapy that creates the appropriate conditions required by the body's natural healing system in rebalancing and recharging human energy fields. Although Reiki studies in the field of orthopedics are limited, it is revealed that Reiki improves physical function, reduces fatigue and increases emotional well-being in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Studies evaluating the effectiveness of Reiki in patients undergoing total knee replacement have evaluated that Reiki is effective in controlling postoperative pain, reducing blood pressure, respiratory rate, and state anxiety. The study was conducted with patients with knee osteoarthritis who applied to the orthopedic outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital between June 24, 2022 and December 31, 2022. The data of the study was collected using "Patient Information Form (PIF)", "Visual Analog Scale (VAS)", "Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)" and "Holistic Well-Being Scale (HWS). PIF, VAS, WOMAC and HWS were applied to the patients who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Patients were randomized 1:1 into groups by a single therapist according to the block randomization method. There were two arms in the study; Reiki treatment (n=21) and control group (n=21). A second-degree Reiki practitioner applied Reiki to the patients for 40 minutes. On the second day and the third day, 30 minutes distant Reiki were applied to the patients. In the control group, nothing was done. Post-tests were applied to all patients 3 days and 10 days after they were included in the study.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
42
Reiki is based on the belief that disease occurs when an energy center is blocked, and that the energy is transmitted through touch. In distant Reiki, Reiki practitioners followed the traditional Usui Reiki protocol for distant healing.
Nursemin Ünal
Ankara, None Selected, Turkey (Türkiye)
RECRUITINGPersonal Information Form
The form created by the researchers included 11 questions covering the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients such as gender, age, marital status and the characteristics of the disease/treatment process.
Time frame: Baseline
Visual Analog Scale
It is a reliable and easily applicable scale used to measure the severity of pain in patients, accepted in the world literature. The scale, which was used to digitize the values that could not be measured numerically, was used to evaluate the pain intensity of the patients. A minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10 points can be obtained from the scale. In addition, high scores indicate increased pain intensity.
Time frame: Change from baseline Visual Analog Scale at 3 days and 10 days
Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index
It is a valid and reliable index that is widely used for the evaluation of patients with osteoarthritis. The WOMAC Osteoarthritis index, which was validated and reliable in Turkish by Tüzün et al. in our country, consists of three sections and 24 questions in which pain, stiffness and physical function are questioned. Each question was scored on a Likert scale as 0=absent, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe, 4=very severe. The maximum scores that can be obtained from the index are 20 for the pain subgroup, 8 for stiffness, and 68 for physical function. High scores indicate increased pain and stiffness and impaired physical function.
Time frame: Change from baseline Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index at 3 days and 10 days
Holistic Well-Being Scale
The scale is graded from disagree (1) to completely agree (10). The minimum score of the scale is 10 and the maximum score is 260, and as the score obtained from the scale increases, holistic well-being improves.
Time frame: Change from baseline Holistic Well-Being Scale at 3 days and 10 days
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