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Energy Medicine has an emphasis on therapies of the energy fields originating within the body (biofields), or outside of the body (electromagnetic fields). Magnet therapy (also known as magnetic field therapy or biomagnetic therapy) involves the use of magnets, magnetic devices, or magnetic fields to treat a variety of conditions, including circulatory problems, certain forms of arthritis, chronic pain, sleep disorders, and stress. Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy and micro-current therapies are examples of devices that use the application of external electromagnetic energy for the promotion of health. Some examples of therapies that deal with effecting the body's own bio-electromagnetic system include QiGong, Reiki, Radionics, Healing Touch, and Therapeutic Touch. QiGong, is a 3,000 year-old ancient Chinese system that aims to stimulate and balance the flow of "chi", or vital energy, along the acupuncture meridians, or energy pathways. QiGong is used to reduce stress, improve blood circulation, enhance immune function, and treat a variety of health conditions.Practitioners of Reiki, an ancient Tibetan healing system, use light hand placements to channel healing energies to the recipient. Reiki is commonly used to treat emotional and mental distress as well as chronic and acute physical problems. It is also used to assist the recipient in achieving spiritual focus and clarity. Reiki practitioners may vary widely in the techniques they use. Therapeutic Touch, or Healing Touch, is practiced by registered nurses and other practitioners to accelerate wound healing, relieve pain, promote relaxation, prevent illness, and ease the dying process. The practitioner uses light touch, or works with their hands, near the client's body in an effort to restore balance to the client's energy system. Radionics is a method of diagnosis and treatment at a distance, which utilizes specially-designed instruments that practitioners can use to determine the underlying causes of diseases within a living system - be it human, animal, plant, or the soil itself. While Radionics is mainly used to diagnose and treat human ailments, it has also been used extensively in agriculture to increase yields, control pest, and enhance the health of livestock.  Energy Medicine is both a complement to other approaches to medical care and a complete system for self-care and self-help. It can address physical illness and emotional or mental disorders, and can also promote high-level wellness and peak performance. You heal the body by activating its natural healing energies; you also heal the body by restoring energies that have become weak, disturbed, or out of balance. To accomplish this goal, energy medicine utilizes techniques from healing traditions such as acupuncture, yoga, kinesiology, and QiGong. Flow, balance, and harmony can be non-invasively restored and maintained within an energy system by tapping, massaging, pinching, twisting, or connecting specific energy points (acupressure points) on the skin; by tracing or swirling the hand over the skin along specific energy pathways; through exercises or postures designed for specific energetic effects; by focused use of the mind to move specific energies; and/or by surrounding an area with healing energies (one person’s energies impacts another’s). Energy Medicine can be utilized to treat illness and relieve pain; stop the onset of illness as soon as it begins, stimulate immune function, relieve headaches, release stress, improve memory, enhance digestion, relieve arthritis, neck, shoulder, and low back pain, and cope with electromagnetic pollution. By learning simple energy techniques to keep your energies balanced and humming, you can improve your health, sharpen your mind, and increase your joy and vitality. The following organization provides some excellent background and insight into the concept and practice of Energy Medicine. Go to: www.nccam.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/energymed.htm This site is provided by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, at the National Institute of Health.  Energy Medicine is a domain in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) that deals with energy fields of two types: • Veritable, which can be measured • Putative, which have yet to be measured The veritable energies employ mechanical vibrations (such as sound) and electromagnetic forces, including visible light, magnetism, monochromatic radiation (such as laser beams), and rays from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. They involve the use of specific, measurable wavelengths and frequencies to treat patients. In contrast, putative energy fields (also called biofields) have defied measurement to date by reproducible methods. Therapies involving putative energy fields are based on the concept that human beings are infused with a subtle form of energy. This vital energy or life force is known under different names in different cultures, such as “chi” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), “ki” in the Japanese Kampo system, “doshas” in Ayurvedic medicine, and elsewhere as “prana, etheric energy, fohat, orgone, odic force, mana, and homeopathic resonance”. Vital energy is believed to flow throughout the material human body, but it has not been unequivocally measured by means of conventional instrumentation. Nonetheless, therapists claim that they can work with this subtle energy, see it with their own eyes, and use it to effect changes in the physical body and influence health. Practitioners of energy medicine believe that illness results from disturbances of these subtle energies (the biofield). For example, more than 2,000 years ago, Asian practitioners postulated that the flow and balance of life energies are necessary for maintaining health and described tools to restore them. Herbal medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, and cupping, for example, are all believed to act by correcting imbalances in the internal biofield, such as by restoring the flow of “chi” through meridians to reinstate health. Some therapists are believed to emit or transmit the vital energy (external “chi”) to a recipient to restore health. Magnetic Therapy
Static magnets have been used for centuries in efforts to relieve pain or to obtain other alleged benefits (e.g., increased energy). Numerous anecdotal reports have indicated that individuals have experienced significant, and at times dramatic, relief of pain after the application of static magnets over a painful area. Although the literature on the biological effects of magnetic fields is growing, there is a paucity of data from well-structured, clinically sound studies. However, there is growing evidence that magnetic fields can influence physiological processes. It has recently been shown that static magnetic fields affect the microvasculature of skeletal muscle. Microvessels that are initially dilated respond to a magnetic field by constricting, and microvessels that are initially constricted respond by dilating. These results suggest that static magnetic fields may have a beneficial role in treating edema or ischemic conditions, but there is no proof that they do.Pulsating electromagnetic therapy has been in use for the past 40 years. A well-recognized and standard use is to enhance the healing of nonunion fractures. It also has been claimed that this therapy is effective in treating osteoarthritis, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis, and sleep disorders. Some animal and cell culture studies have been conducted to elucidate the basic mechanism of the pulsating electromagnetic therapy effect, such as cell proliferation and cell-surface binding for growth factors. However, detailed data on the mechanisms of action are still lacking. Millimeter Wave Therapy
Low-power millimeter wave (MW) irradiation elicits biological effects, and clinicians in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe have used it in past decades to treat a variety of conditions, ranging from skin diseases and wound healing to various types of cancer, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases, and psychiatric illnesses. In spite of an increasing number of in vivo and in vitro studies, the nature of MW action is not well understood. It has been shown, for example, that MW irradiation can augment T-cell mediated immunity in vitro. However, the mechanisms by which MW irradiation enhances T-cell functions are not known. Some studies indicate that pretreating mice with naloxone may block the hypoalgesic and antipruritic effects of MW irradiation, suggesting that endogenous opioids are involved in MW therapy-induced hypoalgesia. Theoretical and experimental data show that nearly all the MW energy is absorbed in the superficial layers of skin, but it is not clear how the energy absorbed by keratinocytes, the main constituents of the epidermis, is transmitted to elicit the therapeutic effect.1 It is also unclear whether MW yields clinical effects beyond a placebo response. Sound Energy Therapy
Sound energy therapy, sometimes referred to as vibrational, or frequency therapy, includes music therapy as well as wind chime and tuning fork therapy. The presumptive basis of its effect is that specific sound frequencies resonate with specific organs of the body to heal and support the body. Music therapy has been the most studied among these interventions, with studies dating back to the 1920s, when it was reported that music affected blood pressure. Other studies have suggested that music can help reduce pain and anxiety. Music and imagery, alone and in combination, have been used to entrain mood states, reduce acute or chronic pain, and alter certain biochemicals, such as plasma beta-endorphin levels. These uses of energy fields truly overlap with the domain of mind-body medicine. (For more information, see NCCAM's backgrounder, "Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview.") Light Therapy
Light therapy is the use of natural or artificial light to treat various ailments, but unproven uses of light extend to lasers, colors, and monochromatic lights. High-intensity light therapy has been documented to be useful for seasonal affective disorder, with less evidence for its usefulness in the treatment of more general forms of depression and sleep disorders. Hormonal changes have been detected after treatment. Although low-level laser therapy is claimed to be useful for relieving pain, reducing inflammation, and helping to heal wounds, strong scientific proof of these effects is still needed. Energy Medicine Involving Putative Energy Fields
The concept that sickness and disease arise from imbalances in the vital energy field of the body has led to many forms of therapy. In TCM, a series of approaches are taken to rectify the flow of “chi”, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture (and its various versions), QiGong, diet, and behavior changes. Acupuncture
Of these approaches, acupuncture is the most prominent therapy to promote “chi” flow along the meridians. Acupuncture has been extensively studied and has been shown to be effective in treating some conditions, particularly certain forms of pain. However, its mechanism of action remains to be elucidated. The main threads of research on acupuncture have shown regional effects on neurotransmitter expression, but have not validated the existence of "energy", per se. QiGong
QiGong, another energy modality that purportedly can restore health, is practiced widely in the clinics and hospitals of China. Most of the reports were published as abstracts in Chinese, which makes accessing the information difficult; however, more than 2,000 records have been collected from a QiGong database which indicates that QiGong has extensive health benefits on conditions ranging from blood pressure to asthma. The reported studies are largely anecdotal case series and not randomized controlled trials. Few studies have been conducted outside China and reported in peer-reviewed journals in English. Whole Medical Systems and Energy Medicine
Although modalities such as acupuncture and QiGong have been studied separately, TCM uses combinations of treatments (e.g., herbs, acupuncture, and QiGong) in practice. Similarly, Ayurvedic medicine uses combinations of herbal medicine, yoga, meditation, and other approaches to restore vital energy, particularly at the chakra energy centers. (For more information on TCM and Ayurvedic medicine, see NCCAM's backgrounder "Whole Medical Systems: An Overview.") Therapeutic Touch and Related Practices
Numerous other practices have evolved over the years to promote or maintain the balance of vital energy fields in the body. Examples of these modalities include Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Reiki, Johrei, Vortex Healing, and Polarity Therapy. All these modalities involve movement of the practitioner's hands over the patient's body to become attuned to the condition of the patient, with the idea that by so doing, the practitioner is able to strengthen and reorient the patient's energies.
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