There is no question that Reiki is quackery as is accupuncture (for different reasons). (http://www.skepdic.com/reiki.html).
These quack remedies do seem to work for some people, though. The reason is well known, and it has nothing to do with ki or chakras. It is simply the placebo effect. In the case with accupuncture, there can also be a physiological response to the 'treatment', though this has nothing to do with the eastern theory of accupuncture. It has to do with the way the body's nervous system works - and only western medicine and science have been able to explain it.
I honesty have no idea why people find these alternative remedies credible (homeopathy, theraputic touch, etc.). The new age mumbojumbo and ridiculous explanations are just as (un)believable as living forever on a paradise earth.
rem