The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'Qigong' Category

Review: Qigong in patients with cancer

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Qigong is often used by cancer patients to help manage their symptoms.

Researchers at The University of Hong Kong, in China, evaluated the effectiveness of qigong exercise in cancer care. (more…)

A well-designed study of qigong in type 2 diabetes

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Past studies have been criticized because of poor study design, according to Prof. Ernst.

Researchers from Bastyr University tighten up the design and report their results. (more…)

Are those using CAM less likely to be immunized?

Friday, May 13th, 2011

CAMThere’s concern that the use of complementary and alternative medications (CAM) may replace recommended preventive health practices.

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, in Pennsylvania conducted a survey to learn more. (more…)

Qigong for women with breast cancer

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas, looked for evidence that external qigong treatment could shrink breast cancer tumors and improve quality of life in women with breast cancer awaiting surgery. (more…)

Review: Qigong for healthcare

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Treating chronic pain with external qigong

Friday, February 11th, 2011

An external qigong healer uses gentle touch or non-contact treatment to reach the client’s life energy (qi) and bring it to balance.

It was used along with pharmacotherapy by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota. (more…)

Which exercise for nonspecific neck pain in office workers?

Friday, January 21st, 2011

Researchers at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, Thailand, reviewed research on exercise options to prevent and cure nonspecific neck pain. (more…)

Perceived benefit from CAM in people with back pain

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Back pain is the second most common reason patients seek ambulatory medical care in the United States.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston surveyed the nation about CAM use for back pain. (more…)

An Ernst review: Qigong for diabetes

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient. (more…)

Kiko exercises to prevent migraine headache

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Researchers from the State University of New York, at Binghamton studied the response to kiko (video here), to prevent headaches.

Here are the results of the first study of this Japanese practice of qigong that uses repetitive coordinated breathing and movement. (more…)

Review: CAM treatment of depression and anxiety

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Anxiety and depression are among the most common conditions cited by those seeking treatment with complementary and alternative therapies.

Researchers from The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Review: Qigong to treat pain

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Qigong is an internal martial art in which one learns to sense the Qi (the circulating life energy) moving in their body.

Prof. Ernst reviewed the research on qigong to treat pain. (more…)

Using qigong to improve quality of life in patients with cancer

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

qigong.jpegResearchers from the University of Sydney, in Concord, Australia compared qigong to usual care. (more…)

Qigong and exercise for neck pain in the elderly

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

There were “no significant differences for pain, neck pain, disability, and quality of life,” according to researchers at Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany. (more…)

Supportive care for chronic fatigue syndrome

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Medscape has published a review written by clinicians from around the US.

Let’s focus on 6 supportive care options for chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis. (more…)

Qigong therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

The benefit depends on the therapist, according to this study from the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey. (more…)

Giving equal time to CAM options to manage stress

Friday, May 16th, 2008

An article published on Medscape discusses the impact of stress on insomnia. In addition to a brief mention of mindfulness, the author limits the discussion to benzodiazepines or ramelteon (Rozerem), which acts on melatonin receptors.

There are so many other options that the author fails to even mention. So, I’ll mention them here. (more…)

Effects of qigong on stress among computer operators

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

This study suggests, “Qigong [chee-kung] exercise may reduce stress [associated with] computerized work.” (more…)

Qigong benefits in elderly people with depression

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

The results of this study show that regular qigong practice could relieve depression and improve self-efficacy and personal well being among elderly persons with chronic physical illness and depression.

The real message is that active seniors have better quality of life than their sedentary neighbors. (more…)

The value of qigong in the management of diabetes

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Qigong (pronounced chee-gung) is a Chinese system of postures, exercises, breathing techniques, and meditations used to improve one’s chi/qi (energy field). It’s also called chi kung, chi gong, chi gung, daoyin.

Researchers from The University of Queensland in Australia reviewed the literature on qigong and diabetes.

Here’s what they found. (more…)