Reiki is an alternative approach to the treatment and healing of disease and medical complaints that originated in Japan. It was introduced to the world in 1922 by Mikao Usui, a Tendai Buddhist who claimed he received reiki while undertaking at 21-day fast at Mount Kurama near Kyoto.

Reiki is a practice that involves a significant spiritual element and has no scientific evidence supporting its philosophies. Practitioners claim to be able to heal the afflicted by moving their hands over the patient's body and directing healing energy towards the affected area.

Practitioners, who are referred to as reiki masters, claim they make use of an energy or universal 'life force.' This force is said to be constantly present, but only reiki masters have been trained to access it. This energy cannot be seen and its existence has yet to be validated by any modern scientific experiments or tests. In spite of this, the practice has a number of followers in countries around the world.

The practice is allegedly beneficial in treating a wide variety of medical conditions but is generally associated with relieving stress and localized pain, promoting better sleep, reducing blood pressure and the side effects of conventional drugs, supporting the immune system and accelerating the body's self-healing abilities. These benefits are deemed to create a better environment for the body to recover from specific illnesses or diseases.

Reiki is an unlicensed and unregulated industry. Currently in both the US and the UK practitioners are not required to be accredited. Patients choosing reiki as an approach to their medical complaint should make adequate enquiries about their proposed practitioner's qualification before beginning treatment.