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reference
Oh b, Butow P, Mullan B, et al. Influence of medical Qigong on quality of life, fatigue, mood and inflammation in cancer patients: a randomized controlled study.Ann oncol.2010; 21: 608-614.
design
Randomized controlled trial involving 162 patients with various types of cancer. The median age was 60 years (range 31–86). All patients had a prognosis of >12 months and had never done QiGong before participating in the study. Outcome measures, including quality of life (QOL), fatigue, mood, and an inflammatory biomarker, were measured pre-intervention and 10 weeks post-intervention. The intervention consisted of two 90-minute supervised medical QiGong (MQ) sessions per week and assigned 30-minute sessions to be performed daily at home. The assessment was carried out using the “Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General”; QOL, quality of life (FACT-G); Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Fatigue (FACT-F); Mood State Profile (POMS). Inflammation was assessed using serum measurements of C-reactive protein.
Key findings
The quality of life and all subdomain dimensions (physical, social, emotional and functional well-being), measured by FACT-G, were significantly improved in the intervention group after 10 weeks compared to the non-treatment group (P=0.001). The intervention group also experienced significant improvement in cancer-related fatigue as measured by FACT-F (P=0.001). Improvements in general mood status measured by POMS were also significantly improved in the intervention group (P= 0.021) compared to the control group. The C-reactive protein was also significantly improved in the intervention group (P= 0.044).
Effects on practice
Qigong is an old naturopathy from China, which uses an approach described in western language as a spirit-body approach to improve physical and mental well-being. From an eastern perspective, this improvement naturally focuses on the improved energy flow or "Qi" throughout the body. The program used in this study was a tailor -made medical Qigong, which was developed by the main author, "to be specifically involved in the needs of cancer patients and to control emotions and stress and to improve physical function". It consisted of "15-minute discussion about health issues, 30-minute gentle stretching and body movement to stimulate the body along the energy channels, 15-minute movement while sitting ... and 30-minute meditation including breathing exercises."
The program used was specially tailored to the needs of cancer patients in order to control emotions and stress and improve physical function.
It should be noted that these different techniques may have improved the effectiveness of the overall treatment. Each section of the 90-minute monitored routine can have its own independent therapeutic value; It is therefore more likely that the bundling of these therapies is useful for a considerable number of patients. However, this should not reduce the meaningfulness of the results. There is already indications that Qigong can improve the quality of life of people with chronic diseases.1In addition, the systemic calming effects of Qigong have been demonstrated in studies of heart rate and blood pressure.2.3
The authors of the current study demonstrated a similar trend in a pilot study published in 2008.4Thirty participants received a similar MQ program for eight weeks. Trends toward improved quality of life were observed, but statistical significance was not reached in the small number of patients. The significance of the current publication is that it is the first with sufficient power to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in quality of life with MQ in patients with a cancer diagnosis. It should also be noted that no studies to the contrary have been published.
Chinese doctors can see this study as evidence of what is obvious, since Qigong is expected to make the improvements of physical and emotional well -being observed in this study. Like so many studies, this publication offers an "evidence -based" support of old wisdom and/or practices. In our daily practice, many practitioners already lead patients to techniques for spirit, body and soul. Together with confirming publications, this study can support our discussions with colleagues and help patients to adhere to our recommendations for Qigong in particular and spirit-body techniques.
restrictions
Due to the customized and unique program developed by the lead author, this study will be difficult to reproduce by other researchers. There may have been some degree of selection bias in the study because participants volunteered for the study. The duration of the study was limited to just 10 weeks and longer-term effects cannot be extrapolated from the data. Finally, this study was blinded to neither participants nor researchers.