Energy medicine goes mainstream: techniques to balance your energy are among the most widely used disciplines in alternative medicine. Before taking your pick, here's what you need to know

Natural Health, Oct, 2003 by Katy Koontz

State of the art and science:

Therapeutic touch has been shown to enhance the health of premature babies and studies are underway to confirm that it reduces the stress placed on their immature bodies. The technique, which was developed by a nurse in the 1970s, is taught to health professionals at 8o universities throughout the country. Today, some 30,000 nurses use its methods for enhancing healing in children and adults.

A meta-analysis published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine showed a positive effect in most of the 38 studies reviewed, while a meta-analysis of therapeutic-touch research in Nursing Science Quarterly reported that the therapy produced a positive effect.

Several current studies funded by NCCAM intend to evaluate whether Reiki improves fibromyalgia, the anxiety and depression experienced by those suffering from advanced AIDS, and . diabetic neuropathy, a painful condition involving the nerves of the feet.

Researchers are also measuring the ability of qi gong masters to alter the growth of cell cultures. This experiment is designed to eliminate the possibility of the placebo effect, which has proved to be an obstacle to research in human clinical studies.