Energy medicine

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Energy medicine

Energy medicine is one of five domains of ?complementary and alternative medicine? identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in the United States.^[1]

The approaches vary widely in philosophy, approach, and origin. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine divides energy medicine approaches into two general categories. Therapies predicated on forms of "energy" unknown to current science are known as putative energy medicine. Therapies which rely on known forms of energy, such as electromagnetism are termed "veritable" energy therapies.^[1] In the U.S., devices relying on putative energy medicine have in some cases been the subject of law-enforcement action due to fraudulent marketing practices.^[2]

Varieties of energy medicine
Devices
References
See also
External links

Varieties of energy medicine

The term "energy medicine" has been in general use since the founding of the non-profit International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine in the 1980s and was further defined by two books, each titled Energy Medicine, one which is a guide for practitioners^[3] and one which surveys existing research evidence.^[4]

The NCCAM distinguishes between claims of healing virtue surrounding actual, well-known forms of physical energy ("Veritable Energy Medicine"), and claims of "energies" of unclear nature, where not only the claim of healing virtue is unsubstantiated, but also the alleged energy itself ("Energy Medicine Involving Putative Energy Fields"):

Types of "Veritable Energy Medicine" include magnet therapy and light therapy, collectively referred to as electromagnetic therapy. Mainstream medicine involving electromagnetic radiation (radiation therapy) is not accounted "electromagnetic therapy" in the terms of complementary medicine. Cymatic therapy uses sound waves.

Types of "Energy Medicine Involving Putative Energy Fields" include acupuncture, qi gong and related concepts involving the notion of Qi (such as Reiki), homeopathy, Therapeutic Touch, distant healing (under which they count intercessory prayer) and related concepts.

Energy medicine often proposes that imbalances in the body's "energy field" result in illness, and that by re-balancing the body's energy field health can be restored.^[1]

Some alternative therapies, such as electromagnetic therapy, use veritable energy, though they may still make claims that are not supported by evidence. Many claims have been made by associating "spirit" with forms of energy poorly understood at the time. In the 1800s, electricity and magnetism were in the "borderlands" of science and electrical quackery was rife. In the 2000s, quantum mechanics and grand unification theory provide similar opportunities.

Devices

Electro-metabograph machine

A 2007 investigation by the Seattle Times found that thousands of devices claiming to utilize energy medicine—many of them illegal or dangerous—were used in hundreds of venues across the United States. The newspaper described energy medicine as modern-day snake oil, pointing to a lack of regulation and the widespread use of false or unproven marketing claims.^[2]

Following this investigation, two such devices were banned in January 2008 by authorities in the USA.^[5]