A randomized controlled trial of spiritual healing in restricted neck movement

Objective: To investigate the clinical effectiveness of visiting a spiritual healer in restricted neck movement.Design: Pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Setting/Location: Spiritual-healing clinic in Aberdeen, Scotland.Subjects: Sixty-eight (68) volunteers over the age of 18 years with restricted neck movement not currently receiving spiritual healing.Intervention: Three weekly sessions of spiritual healing treatment lasting approximately 30 minutes each. Control group received normal care (no spiritual healing).Outcome measures: Range of neck movement in three directions. Visual analog scales of pain and overall well-being, Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey general health questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Chronic Pain Grade were also measured.Results: After treatment, the change from baseline in rotation and flexion-extension was significantly greater in the treatment group compared to the control group (mean standard deviation [SD]: 26.3 degrees (21.0 degrees) versus 2.1 degrees (15.1 degrees), p < 0.001 and 20.7 degrees (23.0 degrees) versus –0.03 degrees (15.2 degrees), p < 0.001, respectively). Subjects from the treatment group were also observed to have reduced their pain severity scores after 3 weeks of treatment compared to those of the control group (median change from baseline [range], –2.25 [–8, 2] versus 0 (–6, 4), p = 0.03). For SF-36, the treatment group had significantly improved their scores more than the control group for physical function and energy and vitality. There was a shift in the treatment group toward milder chronic pain grades but this was not significant. There were no significant differences between treatment and control groups in the other outcome measures.Conclusion: This study tentatively supports the effectiveness of visiting a spiritual healer in restricted neck movement. However, larger studies over longer periods, with placebo interventions, are required for corroboration and to gauge the scale of treatment effect.