Energy Based Methods

I just taught a class on  incorporating energy based methods into massage.  Every time I teach this class I wonder why this area continues to be controversial.  I think it is the mystical factor when in reality there is no mystery at all.  " Energy work" is different than spirituality but the two are often interconnected. To understand the plausibility of energy methods it is necessary to understand more about physics.

Here is my point. Machines that use energy waves are being studied. Results are mixed. No one questions that humans have electrical fields. I think the big question is if humans can purposefully direct their energy fields.  Here is what I suggest- approach each client with  the energy of compassion, respect and  intent to help using solid massage application. Don't mix up your spirituality with your massage and respect each clients spirituality as sacred spaced. Keep an open mind -who knows what technological advances will be able to figure out.

This is taken directly of the NIH web site.
Some CAM practices involve manipulation of various energy fields to affect health. Such fields may be characterized as veritable (measurable) or putative (yet to be measured). Practices based on veritable forms of energy include those involving electromagnetic fields (e.g., magnet therapy and light therapy). Practices based on putative energy fields (also called biofields) generally reflect the concept that human beings are infused with subtle forms of energy; qi gong, Reiki., and healing touch are examples of such practices. The 2007 NHIS found relatively low use of putative energy therapies. Only 0.5 percent of adults and 0.2 percent of children had used energy healing/Reiki (the survey defined energy healing as the channeling of healing energy through the hands of a practitioner into the client's body).
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/
When I was looking for some sort of current "energy healing" used in the health care world I found Pulsed RadioFrequency. Pulsed RadioFrequency (PRF) is a relatively new technique derived from a well established and proven intervention, thermal radiofrequency (RF). Both procedures are used in the treatment of chronic pain. Unlike RF treatment, PRF does no direct damage to the nerve. During PRF treatment, electrical energy is applied with a small needle to the affected nerve using a pulsed time cycle that delivers short bursts of RF current, any frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation. When an RF current is supplied to an antenna, an electromagnetic field is created that then is able to propagate through space. Many wireless technologies are based on RF field propagation.
These frequencies make up part of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum:

• Ultra-low frequency (ULF) -- 0-3 Hz
• Extremely low frequency (ELF) -- 3 Hz - 3 kHz
• Very low frequency (VLF) -- 3kHz - 30 kHz
• Low frequency (LF) -- 30 kHz - 300 kHz
• Medium frequency (MF) -- 300 kHz - 3 MHz
• High frequency (HF) -- 3MHz - 30 MHz
• Very high frequency (VHF) -- 30 MHz - 300 MHz
• Ultra-high frequency (UHF)-- 300MHz - 3 GHz
• Super high frequency (SHF) -- 3GHz - 30 GHz
• Extremely high frequency (EHF) -- 30GHz - 300 GHz

here are some links off pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15750367
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15025891
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15025885

Believe

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20440207
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18721175
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12535508
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22008239
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21116663
other links
http://www.chalicebridge.com/Oschman&Daily/OschmansOnTheirBook.html