Effect of laying on of hands as a complementary therapy for pain and functioning in older women with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

AIM: To assess the effects of laying on of hands (LooH) as a complementary therapy to kinesiotherapy, on pain, joint stiffness, and functional capacity of older women with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) compared to a control group. METHODS: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, participants were assigned into 3 groups: LooH with a spiritual component ("Spiritist passe" Group - SPG), LooH without a spiritual component (LooH Group - LHG), and a control group receiving no complementary intervention (Control Group - CG). Patients were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. Primary outcomes were joint stiffness and functional capacity (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]), and pain (WOMAC and visual analog scale). Secondary outcomes were anxiety, depression, mobility, and quality of life. Differences between groups were evaluated using an intention-to-treat approach. RESULTS: A total of 120 women (mean age = 69.2 ± 5.2 years) with KOA were randomized (40 participants per group). At 8 weeks, SPG differed significantly from the LHG for WOMAC Functional Status (between-group difference in the change = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.35 to 1.59, P = .001); Anxiety levels (between-group difference in the change = 1.38; 95% CI: 0.11 to 2.65, P = .027); and also from the CG for all outcomes with exception of WOMAC Stiffness. After 16 weeks, SPG differed significantly from the LHG only for WOMAC Functional Status (between-group difference in the change = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.32 to 1.52, P = .001]) and also from the CG for all outcomes with exception of WOMAC Stiffness and timed up-and-go. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that LooH with a "spiritual component" may promote better long-term functional outcomes than both LooH without a "spiritual component" and a control group without LooH.

Effect of Spiritist "Passe" on Preoperative Anxiety of Surgical Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Double-Blind.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the preoperative anxiety of hospitalized patients exposed to Spiritist "passe," laying on of hand with the intention of healing (Sham) and without laying on of hand. Other variables as depression, pain, physiological parameters, muscle tension, and well-being were assessed. Patients in the Spiritist "passe" intervention group showed greater reductions in anxiety (p < 0.05) and muscle tension (p < 0.01) and increases in well-being (p < 0.01). More marked reductions in preoperative anxiety and muscle tension and improvement in well-being were observed in patients exposed to Spiritist "passe" compared to Sham or standard medical care.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03356691.

Curas e terapêuticas espirituais no Brasil: revisão crítica e algumas reflexões / Spiritual healing and therapies in Brazil: a critical review and some reflections / Curas y terapéuticas espirituales en Brasil: revisión crítica y algunas reflexiones

A despeito dos trânsitos oficiosos entre terapêuticas científicas e não científicas, identifica-se de forma empírica um desconhecimento científico e acadêmico de terapêuticas e curas que, de modo geral, respondem pelo epíteto de "espiritual". Supõe-se que haja no Brasil uma abundância de eventos deste tipo, dos quais provavelmente há registros. O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar uma revisão integrativa de relatos acadêmicos de curas espirituais publicados por autores brasileiros. Identificaram-se 22 estudos, a maioria pesquisas etnográficas em contextos religiosos, realizadas por pesquisadores da área das Ciências Sociais, seguida das Ciências das Religiões, da área da Saúde (Saúde Coletiva, Enfermagem, Medicina e Psicologia), que utilizaram o conceito de eficácia simbólica para a compreensão desses fenômenos. Tais achados ressaltam a urgência de abordagens transdisciplinares que possam superar a dicotomia expressiva do recorte ideológico entre natureza e cultura.

Despite a certain crossover between scientific and non-scientific therapies, it has been empirically shown that there is a lack of scientific and academic knowledge of healing and therapies that, by and large, respond to the epithet "spiritual". It is assumed that there is an abundance of these types of events in Brazil, of which there are probably records. An integrative review of academic reports of spiritual healing published by Brazilian researchers was conducted. Twenty-two studies were identified, the majority of which were ethnographic studies in religious contexts conducted by researchers from the field of social sciences, followed by the field of religious science, and the field of health (public health, nursing, medicine, and psychology). These studies use the concept of symbolic effectiveness to understand these phenomena. These findings underline the urgency of cross-disciplinary approaches to overcome the expressive dichotomy between nature and culture.

A pesar de los tránsitos oficiosos entre terapéuticas científicas y no científicas, se identifica de forma empírica un desconocimiento científico y académico de terapéuticas y curas que, por lo general, responden por el epíteto de "espiritual". Se supone que haya en Brasil una abundancia de eventos de este tipo, de los cuales probablemente existen registros. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar una revisión integradora de relatos académicos de curas espirituales publicados por autores brasileños. Se identificaron 22 estudios, la mayoría de ellos investigaciones etnográficas en contextos religiosos, realizadas por investigadores del áreas de Ciencias Sociales, seguida por las áreas de Ciencias de las Religiones, salud (Salud colectiva, Enfermería, Medicina y Psicología) que utilizaron el concepto de eficacia simbólica para la comprensión de tales fenómenos. Esos hallazgos subrayan la urgencia de abordajes transdisciplinarios que puedan superar la dicotomía expresiva del recorte ideológico entre naturaleza y cultura

Effects of laying on of hands with and without a spiritual context on pain and functionality of older women with knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Laying on of hands (LooH) is a culturally-accepted therapy in several traditions. In Brazil, "Spiritism" (third-largest religious tradition in number of followers) uses LooH with the name of "Spiritist Passe" (SP). However, there are few studies assessing SP's role in medical outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the effects of LooH, with and without a spiritual context, on pain, joint stiffness, and functional capacity of older women (≥60 years old) with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS/DESIGN: In this triple-blind, prospective randomized controlled trial, older women with KOA are assigned to three groups: LooH with a spiritual context group, LooH group without a spiritual context, and a control group receiving no intervention. Patients are assessed by a blinded researcher at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. Pain, joint stiffness, and functional capacity are assessed using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Other measures such as anxiety, depression, gait speed, and quality of life will also be assessed. To detect differences between groups, a post-intervention comparison between the three groups and a mean change (post-pre) comparison among the three groups will be done using analysis of variance. All statistical analyses will be performed using an intention-to-treat approach and a per-protocol analysis. DISCUSSION: A pragmatic design using SP, LooH without spiritual context, and no LooH may provide further scientific evidence on SP's feasibility and efficacy for KOA patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02917356.

Effect of the Spiritist "passe" energy therapy in reducing anxiety in volunteers: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In Brazil, one of the most used energy therapies is the Spiritist "passe", which is practiced by Spiritist healers. Although experimental studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of different energy therapies in reducing anxiety and pain, little is known about the effect of the Spiritist "passe" on health outcomes. Therefore, the present study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of "passe" energy therapy in reducing anxiety symptoms. METHODS/DESIGN: In this prospective, randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly allocated into two groups: Intervention (8 weekly Spiritist "passe" sessions, n=23), and Control (8 weekly sham Spiritist "passe" sessions, n=27). Anxiety was assessed using the Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-trait). RESULTS: Of 97 individuals screened, 50 were included in the final analysis. Decreasing STAI-trait anxiety scores were observed in both groups throughout the study (p<0.0001). By the end of the study, 17% and 63% of intervention and control participants, respectively, still met the criterion for anxiety (p=0.001). However, anxiety reduction was more accentuated in the Spiritist "passe" group (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: In this small pilot study, anxiety was more markedly reduced in participants receiving the Spiritist "passe" than in controls, warranting larger trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02376959.