Beverly nursing center tries alternative therapy
By Cate Lecuyer
Staff writer

BEVERLY — The arthritis in Myrtle Smith's shoulders and back was so bad she could barely lift her arm. She took Vicodin three times a day for the pain and could never quite relax.

Until recently.

Smith, 77, is one of about a dozen residents at the Essex Park Rehabilitation Center who signed up for a three-month Reiki pilot program. Reiki master Karen Pischke, who's also a registered nurse, comes in once a month and lightly holds her hands in certain positions over her patients' bodies. This balances a sort of energy, or life force, within, she said.

"The very first day, I felt a big difference," Smith said. "Afterwards, I felt relaxed and less pain. It's nice."

After her third session, she sat in her wheelchair in the common room talking to Pischke.

"How do you feel?" Pischke asked.

"I feel great," Smith said, lifting her arm straight up to the ceiling. She also stopped taking her Vicodin in the afternoon.

Reiki is a Japanese healing technique said to treat the mind, body and spirit. Pischke places her hands either gently on or just above her patients' bodies, evoking a flow of energy that creates feelings of peace, comfort and overall well-being, she said..

"She touches very gently, and you can feel heat going through and penetrating that area," Smith said.

The alternative therapy is not medically proven or accepted, and critics often associate positive results with the placebo effect. Pischke said the treatment can decrease anxiety and discomfort, improve moods, speed up the recovery process after an injury or surgery, and basically make people feel better.

That can also be seen in more concrete ways. Before a session, Smith's blood pressure was a bit high at 130/90; after the 20-minute session, it dropped to 124/88.
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Courtesy:
http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_144004306.html