Painful diabetic neuropathy in type 2 diabetes: impact of an alternative approach

Gillespie EA¹, Gillespie BW², Stevens MJ¹

¹Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

²University of Michigan Center for Statistical Consultation and Research and the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center, University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Objective

Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is often refractory to conventional therapeutic strategies. Complementary and alternative modalities are often adopted to augment or replace traditional pharmacologic agents, but rigorous scientific evaluation of their efficacy is often lacking. Reiki is a hands-on therapy which proposes that alterations in the human body bioenergy field can ameliorate chronic pain. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of Reiki to control PDN in a prospective 12-week placebo-controlled study.

Materials and methods

Two hundred and seven subjects with type 2 diabetes and PDN underwent 12 weekly Reiki or ‘mimic’ therapy sessions or received ‘usual care’. The primary measure of efficacy was the short-form McGill–Melzack Pain Questionnaire. A 6-min walk test was also performed as a secondary endpoint.

Results

Compared to baseline, the total score for pain descriptors improved for both the Reiki and mimic-Reiki treatments, but not for the usual care. Final pain scores were not significantly different between experimental groups. Seven individual pain descriptors improved significantly (P < 0.05) in the Reiki group, compared to three and one in the mimic and usual care groups, respectively. Comparison of Reiki and mimic-Reiki treatments, revealed a statistically significant difference in the symptoms of throbbing and a statistically borderline difference (P = 0.05) in the symptoms of cramping. Both Reiki- and mimic-Reiki-treated subjects significantly improved walking distance.

Conclusion

Both Reiki and mimic-Reiki therapy decrease pain perception and improve walking distance in subjects with PDN.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported in part by grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation grant number N001441, the National Institutes of Health R01-F000727 and the American Diabetes Association. This work was also supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health grant number P50-AT-00011 and a GCRC grant number M01RR00042.

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