Qigong & Research

A lot of research has been done on the health benefits of qigong. Both in Eastern countries like China, Japan and South Korea and Western countries like the USA and the UK, medical scientists have researched the effectiveness of qigong.

The focus of most of this research has been on the immune system, heart disease, cancer and stress-related disorders, where qigong is shown to have a very beneficial effect.

However, the benefits of qigong extend to other areas of health as well. By clicking on the headers below you will find research to support the specific health advantages of practising qigong. This scientific evidence has been obtained from individual studies or using metanalysis¹. The research papers cited follow strict Evidence Based Medical (EBM)² criteria, and have been tabulated into Strong and Preliminary Evidence.

• Qigong and wellbeing
• Qigong and heart disease
• Qigong and diabetes
• Qigong and respiratory diseases
• Qigong and the immune system
• Qigong and cancer
• Qigong and addiction

The Strong Evidence has been coloured orange. This is research that has been peer-reviewed and subjected to critical analysis.

Preliminary Evidence, on the other hand, still needs translation, further confirmation or both. It has been coloured blue to distinguish it from Strong Evidence.

More research

There are still other areas of research that, although still in the early stages, are so interesting, that they are worth mentioning:

• Qigong training improves behaviour and stabalizes grades in school children
• Qigong practice improves circulation to the brain, which might help for concentration and might delay dementia. Herbs that are known to help prevent dementia, such as ginko, work in this way.
• Qigong practice helps reducing the clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, even to the extent of changing the brainwaves in the EEG.
• Qigong helps with depression in elderly people.
• When qigong is added to high-blood pressure medication, the incidence of strokes is further decreased and less drugs were needed.
• Qigong practiced by asthma patients improves their breathing and decreases their drug requirement.
• Qigong practice added to conventional treatment in cancer patients stabilizes or improves white blood cell counts and the immune function. It also improves appetite, weight and strength while increasing the effectiveness and reducing the side-effects of conventional treatment and increasing survival rates.

Dr Carl Snyman was assisted with the qigong research by
Dr Ruth Kendon, who is a naturopath and herbalist based in Sydney, Australia. After graduating with diplomas in Naturopathy and Botanical Medicine, she has spent the last 26 years in private practice. She has also taught clinical nutrition for over two decades. Ruth has also acted as a consultant for companies, presenting products to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia’s FDA.