Benefits of Qigong: a systematic review

Qigong benefits on health

This study is a systematic review of 28 studies for Qigong on numerous physical and emotional health conditions (e.g., cancer, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic low back pain, cervical pain, tinnitus, osteoarthritis, fatigue, burnout, stress and depression). The results suggest that practice of Qigong produces positive results on health, mainly in the medium and long term.


BENEFITS OF QIGONG AS AN INTEGRATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY PRACTICE FOR HEALTH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Authors: Bruna Francielle TonetiRafael Fernando Mendes BarbosaLeandro Yukio ManoLuana Okino SawadaIgor Goulart de OliveiraNamie Okino Sawada

Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2020;28:e3317.doi: 10.1590/1518-8345.3718.3317.Epub 2020 Jul 15.  PMID: 32696918 PMCID: PMC7365612 DOI: 10.1590/1518-8345.3718.3317

Objective: To analyze, in the literature, evidence about the benefits of the integrative and complementary practice of Qigong with regard to the health of adults and the elderly.

Method: A systematic review by searching for studies in the PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases. Randomized and non-randomized clinical trials were included; in Portuguese, English and Spanish; from 2008 to 2018. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses strategy was adopted, as well as the recommendation of the Cochrane Collaboration for assessing the risk of bias in the clinical trials analyzed.

Results: 28 studies were selected that indicated the benefit of the practice to the target audience, which can be used for numerous health conditions, such as: cancer; fibromyalgia; Parkinson's disease; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Burnout; stress; social isolation; chronic low back pain; cervical pain; buzz (tininitis); osteoarthritis; fatigue; depression; and cardiovascular diseases. However, there was a great risk of bias in terms of the blinding of the research studies.

Conclusion: The practice of Qigong produces positive results on health, mainly in the medium and long term. This study contributes to the advancement in the use of integrative and complementary practices in nursing, since it brings together the scientific production in the area from the best research results available.

Full article at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7365612/