International Cross-Sectional Study on the Effectiveness of Okada Purifying Therapy, a Biofield Therapy, for the Relief of Various Symptoms

Kiyoshi Suzuki, Seiya Uchida, Tomoaki Kimura, Hideaki Tanaka, Hiroshi Katamura, Kiyoshi Suzuki, Seiya Uchida, Tomoaki Kimura, Hideaki Tanaka, Hiroshi Katamura

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether differences exist in the effectiveness/safety of a single session of Okada Purifying Therapy (OPT), a type of biofield therapy, among those from different ethnicity/cultures, and to analyze factors associated with the outcomes in a real-world setting. Design: Pre-post test design using convenience sampling methods. Setting: Home setting. Subjects: A total of 11,303 individuals aged 16 years or older from 14 different countries (>1000 individuals each from Japan, the United States, Thailand, Chile/Peru, and <200 individuals each from Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, Belgium, and France). More than 50% of the subjects were themselves OPT practitioners, and more than 50% of the treatments were administered in an environment where the practice of OPT was promoted. Intervention: Participants received a single session of OPT lasting 30 min or longer from the volunteer practitioners. They self-reported the changes in overall symptoms, physical pain, anxiety/depression, and dizziness/palpitation. Outcome measures: Improvement/exacerbation rates of each symptom and factors associated with symptom improvement were analyzed. Results: Of the participants, 77.5%, 75.6%, 78.4%, and 73.8% reported an improvement of overall symptoms, physical pain, anxiety/depression, and dizziness/palpitation, respectively. The improvement rates were consistently higher among participants from Chile/Peru than those from Japan, the United States, and Thailand (p < 0.001), and among those who had received a longer therapy (p < 0.001). Spanish/Portuguese speaking countries almost always showed high improvement rates; conversely, Japan showed a lower rate in each symptom. Participants' gender, reasons for participation, previous experience, and location of the session were also associated with the improvement of different symptoms. These findings occurred regardless of the participants' age or presence/absence of illness. In terms of safety, the exacerbation rates of symptoms were 2.8%, 2.5%, 0.8%, and 1.7%, respectively. Of those who expressed symptoms exacerbation, 71.6% recovered in a few hours. None of them needed emergency medical treatment. Conclusions: In those who were often sympathetic to OPT and/or in an authorized location, OPT was effective and safe across countries with ethnic/cultural differences; however, participants' country of residence and duration of the session were independently associated with the changes in various symptoms. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03994809).

Keywords: adverse events; biofield therapy; effectiveness; energy healing; ethnicity; international study.

Conflict of interest statement

The research team declares no conflict of interest in preparing and publishing this article. No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Number of analyzed data of each symptom. Individuals who met the inclusion criteria are shown as numbers and proportions (%) of the total participants. no data, the level of symptoms was not reported; incomplete data, one or more characteristics were not reported. OPT, Okada Purifying Therapy.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Self-reported changes in overall symptoms after a single session of Okada Purifying Therapy. *p < 0.0083 by the Mann–Whitney test between the participants from Japan, the United States, Thailand, and Chile/Peru.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Self-reported changes in physical pain after a single session of Okada Purifying Therapy. *p < 0.0083 by the Mann–Whitney test between the participants from Japan, the United States, Thailand, and Chile/Peru.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Self-reported changes in anxiety/depression after a single session of Okada Purifying Therapy. *p < 0.0083 by the Mann–Whitney test between the participants from Japan, the United States, Thailand, and Chile/Peru.
FIG. 5.
FIG. 5.
Self-reported changes in dizziness/palpitation after a single session of Okada Purifying Therapy. *p < 0.0083 by the Mann–Whitney test between the participants from Japan, the United States, Thailand, and Chile/Peru.

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