Introduction: Research shows that preoperative anxiety often persists through surgery and into recovery. A study in 2020 found a statistically significant positive correlation between preoperative anxiety and anxiety levels upon arrival in the PACU and at PACU discharge (Anderson et al.). This study, as well as others, demonstrate that patients who experience preoperative anxiety are more likely to have impaired recovery in the form of continued anxiety and depression.
Methods: During the two-week trial, patients scheduled for spine surgery were invited to participate.
Patient signed trial consent, a full set of vitals were obtained and the patient’s baseline anxiety level was assessed by having them fill out the state component of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Upon completion of the 10-minute Reiki session, the patient again filled out the SAI to determine their current level of anxiety.
Results: The trial was presented to a total of 16 patients; 10 male and 6 female. Out of the 16, everyone opted to try Reiki except for one patient who was a 17-year-old male. Of the 15 participants, 12 (80%) had family members who also chose to participate in the Reiki session.
Pre-Reiki, 12 patients reported pain, and 7 of these patients (58%) experienced a reduction in pain post-Reiki. Based on the scores of the SAI, Reiki helped decrease anxiety in 100% of the patients to a variable degree. On the 60-point scale (ranging from 20 to 80), there was an average reduction of 12.3 points. This brought the average pre-Reiki score from 49.6 (high anxiety range) down to 37.26 (low anxiety range) post-Reiki.
Conclusion : This trial successfully demonstrated that a brief Reiki session can reduce anxiety and pain prior to surgery without disrupting pre-op workflows, replicating the results found in previous studies. Almost all patients were open to experiencing Reiki. On average, Reiki brought patients from a level of “high” anxiety to a level of “low” anxiety and proved to be something the patients would want again if offered.
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