Qigong

A systematic review of 8 controlled studies (4 RCTs and 4 CCTs, published 2006-2014) evaluated qigong in 234 cancer patients receiving the intervention versus 248 controls and 16 healthy adults. Seven studies assessed physical and psychosocial outcomes; five assessed biomedical markers. QOL, arterial resistance, and shoulder isokinetic muscular strength showed statistically significant improvements with qigong. Intervention durations ranged from 6 minutes to 6 months across various qigong forms including Medical Qigong, Chan-Chuang qigong, and 18 Forms Tai Chi qigong. Psychological outcomes including fatigue, mood, depression, sleep quality, and cognitive function were measured across studies with generally favorable but inconsistent results. Biomedical markers (C-reactive protein, blood-cell count, immune functioning) showed no significant differences between groups. Jadad quality scores and Oxford Levels of Evidence ratings indicated methodological limitations across the included studies.

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In a non-randomized controlled trial of 23 breast cancer survivors with mastectomy-related lymphedema (11 qigong practitioners, 12 controls; mean ages 58.3±10.1 and 53.8±4.2 years respectively), a single 6-minute session of 18 Forms Tai Chi Internal Qigong significantly reduced affected upper arm, elbow, forearm, and wrist circumferences (p<0.05). Arterial resistance index decreased while maximum systolic blood flow velocity (SV) and minimum diastolic blood flow velocity (DV) increased significantly post-exercise (p<0.05). Between-group differences post-test approached significance for SV (p=0.018) and reached significance for DV (p<0.001). Control participants who rested for the same duration showed no significant changes. The study was single-blinded with the assessor blinded to group allocation.

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