Reiki as a pain management adjunct in the postoperative total knee arthroplasty and surgical obstetric population: An integrative review

Abstract

Pain is an undesirable, but anticipated component of surgery. Opioids are routinely administered to manage pain for the millions of surgical procedures performed annually in the United States. Given the rising rate of opioid deaths, and undeniable fact that pain will be present with surgery, there is a need for adjunct alternative pain therapies to lessen the amount of opioids used in the surgical setting. There are many forms of alternative pain therapies such as acupuncture, massage, meditation, sound therapy, and reiki. Reiki, the focus of this integrative review, is an energetic healing technique that can promote relaxation, stress reduction, and pain relief (International Center for Reiki Training, 2018). The purpose of this integrative review was to explore the use of reiki as an alternative pain management adjunct in the total knee arthroplasty and surgical obstetric population.