Qigong for people with cancer

by Paul Scheele

New University of Sydney research on Qigong found that cancer patients who used this 5000-year-old combination of gentle exercise and meditation experienced significantly higher wellbeing levels, improved cognitive functioning, and less inflammation compared to a control group.

Dr Byeongsang Oh, a clinical senior lecturer at the Sydney Medical School who led the study, said the reduced inflammation in patients who practiced medical Qigong, a form of traditional Chinese medicine, was particularly significant.

"Several studies have indicated chronic inflammation is associated with cancer incidence, progression and even survival," says Dr Oh, who will presented his findings to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago this spring.

"Patients who practiced medical Qigong experienced significant improvements in quality of life, including greater physical, functional, social and emotional wellbeing, and enhanced cognitive functioning, while the control group deteriorated in all of these areas," Dr Oh says. He also found the patients in the medical Qigong group reported increased satisfaction with their sex lives.

The study involved 162 patients, with those assigned to the medical Qigong group undertaking a ten-week program of two supervised 90-minute sessions per week. They were also encouraged to practice at home every day for at least half an hour.

The mean age of participants in this study was 60, with ages ranging from 31 to 86 years. The most common primary cancer diagnosis among participants was breast cancer (34 percent) followed by colorectal cancer (12 percent). When the study began there were no significant differences in measurements of quality of life, fatigue, mood status and inflammation between the intervention and control groups."To our knowledge, our study is the first statistically significant, randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of medical Qigong in patients with cancer," Dr Oh says.

I pulled the above information from a press release issued by the University of Sydney.

Qigong Master Chunyi Lin says that Spring Forest Qigong is a form of "medical Qigong." He's found the above to be true in people who practice Spring Forest Qigong, which is a combination of simple movement, focused concentration, and controlled breathing. You can find out more about Spring Forest Qigong here.