DISCUSSION

In April 1998, Dr Linda Rosa and colleagues 12 published their studies on the ability of 21 senior Therapeutic Touch practioners to 'perceive' the energy field, in a blinded condition. The therapists were asked to state whether the investigator's unseen hand hovered above their right or left hand. They gave the correct answer only in 123 out of 280 trials, a success rate of 44 per cent which could have occurred purely by random chance. As a result the researchers concluded that the claims of Therapeutic Touch has no scientific basis. Our present single blind self-control study, comparing the standard technique of pranic healing with a placebo session of random hand movements, has clearly shown immediate reduction in pain (PAS) in patients with chronic pain of more than six months duration.

The highly significant reduction in sympathetic activity (HR, RR, GSC amplitude of pulse wave on finger plethysmography and BP) seen in the PH group is further objective evidence for the physiologically relaxing effect of PH.

Considering the negative result of Dr.L.Rosa et al, we may wonder how PH could work if the healer does not sense the energy fields and recognize the abnormalities. The ability of the healers of the PH group to perceive pranic energy field may be different from that of Therapeutic Touch practioners. We need to design a study to check this ability in our healers.

Assuming that our healers also may not have perceived the prana field during the first step (scanning) of PH, could it be that steps two and three - that is, the general cleansing and energizing of the prana body with a divine prayer - is responsible for the therapeutic effect observed in this study?

The first step of scanning (to perceive and or see the prana) may not be demonstrable in less experienced healers and if the healer perfects this step it may be that the therapeutic procedure would become even more effective for deeper and longer corrections. More work needs to be done to answer such questions.

The next question that would arise in this study is about the mechanism of pain relief and reduction in sympathetic tone. The explanation offered by the healers is that, during chronic pain the subtle energy fields are disturbed and it shows up in the physical body as pain. The imbalance could be induced by various factors at the physical level (trauma, aging) or at the mental level (depression, anxiety, stress).

The healer sets right the abnormal in the pranic body through transferring the divine energy that is gathered from the cosmic energy fields and thus balances the energy flows. This is experienced by the patients as relief from pain and deep rest. Reduction in sympathetic activity seen immediately after the session can be due to reduction in pain. At this stage of understanding of science it is not possible to explain the exact mechanism of pranic healing until we are able to get more objective evidences and measures of the energy fields described by these healers.

The conclusion of this single blind control study is that PH reduces the pain and sympathetic activity after the of musculoskeletal origin and that this reduction is not placebo hand movement session which may appear similar to PH Session in all its external appearances.