Qigong Institute

Note: The database contains abstracts of articles and not full-text.

Introduction

Qigong is the ancient art of health maintenance and healing that originated several thousand years ago in China. Qigong pronounced "chee gung" embodies two principles, Qi the vital energy of the body and gong the practice and training of the Qi. A person practices Qigong by a combination of exercises including meditation, visualization, breathing and movement. A skilled practitioner of Qigong is able to project Qi to improve the health of another person. The ultimate goal of Qigong is to improve the balance of the functions of the body. Beginning about 1980, extensive clinical and experimental research on medical applications of Qigong was carried out by scientists in China. Most of these studies were reported only at international conferences, and only a few were published because suitable scientific journals are not available in China. The Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™ is a compilation of references to most of these studies as well as to reports in scientific journals, books and Medline. Most of the references contain abstracts in English that may be several pages in length with tables of data and statistical analysis. The Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™ provides the only record in English of the vast amount of research on Qigong from China as well from other countries. The Database contains reports of therapies that have been tried and claimed to be effective. These reports can be used as a guide for improving health and for deciding what further research may be required to confirm promising applications of Qigong. While few research studies on Qigong conform to strict scientific protocol, the collection of research is too large and significant to be ignored. Now you can search over 4,000 references in English to study clinical and experimental research on Qigong from the original sources.

Overview

The Qigong & Energy Medicine Database™ provides the only information in English that records the vast clinical and experimental research on Qigong and Energy Medicine. The Qigong & Energy Medicine Database™ has been updated to contain references not only to Qigong but also to several alternative therapies that implicitly depend upon Qi - the vital life-force energy of the body/mind. These include the following categories:

While the emphasis is on scientific reports, reviews are provided in some cases. The Database now contains abstracts in English from international conferences, scientific publications, The National Library of Medicine and PubMed. Abstracts range in length from a paragraph to several pages and may contain information on methodology, controlled experiments, results summarized in tables, and statistical analysis. Using any key word(s), you can search all abstracts and citations to learn how a given therapy has been applied in clinical and experimental research to treat chronic conditions. Although some of the research does not conform to strict scientific protocol, the considerable volume of research and the favorable outcomes suggest that there are many ways that Qigong and Energy Medicine can complement Western healthcare. The Database has been used as source material for at least nine books, seven dissertations, and many research studies. Medical practitioners, scientists and the public also find it informative. This tool is intended to provide valuable research data that would otherwise be unavailable, however, it should not replace the advice of a doctor.

The Qigong & Energy Medicine Database™ has been copyrighted by the Qigong Institute 2003, 2004.

Scope of references

The Database displays information in two formats: a listing of all records (Figure 1) including author, paper title, date and citation, and all these items can be sorted independently. A single record format (Figure 2) shows the Preview of a given abstract. Once purchased, the abstract may be downloaded in text or Word .doc format. Figure 3 shows an example Word document format.

Figure 3. Sample Word Document Format

Sample Abstract

An illustration of the contents of the Qigong Database is an abstract of recent research on asthma by Reuther and Aldridge (Reuther I, Aldridge D: Treatment of bronchial asthma with Qigong Yangsheng - A pilot study. J Altern Complement Med 1998; 4: 173-183. Qigong Yangsheng is a health promoting method of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that combines movement, mental exercise and breathing technique that is used in China for the therapy of bronchial asthma. For some time now this Qigong has been enjoying an ever-widening acceptance in the Western world. The present pilot study investigates whether Qigong Yangsheng could be used as complementary therapeutic measure to treat asthma patients in a Western industrialized country. Thirty asthma patients who suffered varying degrees of severity with their illness were taught Qigong Yangsheng under medical supervision. They were asked to exercise independently, if possible, on a daily basis and keep a diary of their symptoms for half a year including peak-flow measurements three times daily, use of medication, frequency and length of exercise as well as five asthma-relevant symptoms (sleeping through the night, coughing, expectoration, dyspnea and general well-being). The concept of this study was based on a single-case research design series with baseline, one teaching phase, a phase of self-practice and a refresher teaching course. A 4-week follow-up period was carried out in the same season as the original baseline phase 52 weeks later. An improvement was indicated if the subjects showed a decrease of at least 10 percent in peak-flow variability between the 1st and 52nd week. This occurred more frequently in the group of the exercisers (n=17) than in the group of non-exercisers (n=13) (p<0.01 chi-square-test with Yates correction). Practicing Qigong also decreased the medication required. For example, before practicing Qigong one patient needed 4 medications taken a total of 133 times a week, but after practicing Qigong for 52 weeks only one medication was needed 7 times a week. When comparing the year before with the year of the study, there was improvement also in hospitalization rate, sickness leave, reduced antibiotic use and fewer emergency consultations resulting in reduced treatment costs. Qigong Yangsheng is recommended to asthma patients with professional supervision. An improvement in airw3ay capability and a decrease in illness severity can be achieved by regular self-conducted Qigong exercises.

Applications of the Qigong Database

Medical Qigong is of increasing interest in the West as a complementary approach for treating medical problems in a cost-effective way. Recently, the Qigong Database™ has been used as source material for eight books, seven dissertations and numerous research studies. Feedback from medical practitioners, scientists and the public has been overwhelmingly supportive. The Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™ may help bridge the gap between Oriental and Western medicine

Sample Bibliographies from the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™

From time to time we will publish bibliographies from the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™ indicating the scope of the information available. The following bibliographies contain information on the authors, affiliations, title of paper, and date, location and citation in the publication. The full abstracts of most of the citations in the bibliographies can be obtained from the Qigong Institute by purchasing either the relevant conference proceedings or the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™, which contains all available abstracts. As a service, we can provide any abstract(s) in the proceedings.CUSTOM TAILORED BIBLIOGRAPHIES can be developed for you by the Qigong Institute. For further information, contact us by mail at the home address or by E-mail at .

Bibliography on "anti-aging"

1. Wang Chongxing, Xu Dinghgai, Qian Yusheng, and Kuang Ankun. Research on anti aging effect of qigong. 1st World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 85. 1988.

2. Sun Jiwang, Yuan Rui, and Yang Cuifeng. Analysis of 51 cases with coronary heart disease treated by qigong. 1st World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 135. 1988.

3. Wu Hsiming. Study on qi and superpower. 1st World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 136. 1988.

4. Wang Zhengchang, Huang Jian and others. Preliminary study of qigong effect on anti-aging. 2nd Int Conf on Qigong, 113. 1989.

5. Wang Yuqin and others. Qigong and Anti-aging Process. 3rd Int Qigong Conf [in Chinese], 158. 1992.

6. Xu Hefen, Xue Huining, Bian Meiguang, Zhang Chengming, and Zhou Shuying. Clinical study of the anti-aging effect of qigong. 2nd World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 137. 1993.

7. Kuang AK and Wang CX. [Research on the "anti-aging" effect of breathing exercises (qigong)] Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih 7(8), 455-8, 451. 1987.

8. Kuang A, Wang C, Xu D, and Qian Y. Research on "anti-aging" effect of qigong. J Tradit Chin Med 11(2), 153-8. 1991.

9. Sancier KM. Anti-Aging Benefits of Qigong. J Intl Soc Life Info Science 14(1),12-21. 1996.

10. Wang Chongxing. Effect of qigong on cardiovascular disease. 6th Int Sym on Qigong, 14-16. 1996.

11. Sancier KM Anti-Aging Benefits of Qigong. 3rd World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 147. 96.

12. Liu Tianjun. An exploratory way of defining medical qigong science. 3rd World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 157. 1996.

13. Dong Jingwu. Studies of the secrets of anti-aging through practicing qigong and observing sexual health rules advocated by taoism. 3rd World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong, 178. 1996.

14. Sancier KM. Anti-Aging Benefits of Qigong. 2nd World Congress Qigong, 47. 1998.

15. Sancier KM. Qigong, the anti-aging therapy. Massage & Bodywork, 128-130. 1999.

16. Jahnke R. Qigong and Tai Chi: Research in Clinical Applications. First World Symp on Self-Healing & Power of Consciousness, 39. 2001.

17. Omura Y 1, Shimotsura Y 2, Ooki M 3, and Noguchi T 4. Estimation of the amount of telomere molecules in different human age groups and the telomere increasing effect of acupuncture and shiatsu on st.36, using synthesized basic units of the human telomere molecules as reference control substances for the bi-digital o-ring test resonance phenomenon Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics Res, Int. J 23(1-4), 185-206. 1998.

18. Sancier KM 1 and Holman D 2. Multifaceted health benefits of medical qigong. J Altern Complement Med 10(1),163-5. 2004.

Bibliography on "cancer"

1. Simonton OC, Henson R, and Hampton B. The Healing Journey. 276. 2002.

2. Kerr C. Translating "mind-in-body": two models of patient experience underlying a randomized controlled trial of qigong. Cult Med Psychiatry 26(4), 419-47. 2002.

3. Weiger WA, Smith M, Boon H, Richardson MA, Kaptchuk TJ, and Eisenberg DM. Advising patients who seek complementary and alternative medical therapies for cancer. Ann Intern Med 137(11), 889-903. 2002.

4. Chen WC and Turner FD. Case study of simultaneous recovery from multiple physical symptoms with medical qigong therapy. J Altern Complement Med . 2003.

5. Bodin P, Kreuter M, Bake B, and Olsen MF. Breathing patterns during breathing exercises in persons with tetraplegia. Spinal Cord 41(5), 290-5. 2003.

6. Kitani H. A Study of Prayer for Cancer Patients and Families. J Intl Soc Life Info Science 20(2), 471-472. 2002.

7. Yukie Niwa. Niwa Treatment for 20 Years: (1) Secret key to develop biological medicines with effectiveness from natural plants and seeds (2) Introduction of several biological medicines with clinical effectiveness, (3) Topical immunosuppressive agent ("T" ointment) used for the treatment of atopic dermatitis under the rubric of "steroid. J Intl Soc Life Info Science 20(2), 679-689. 2002.

8. Adachi Y 1 and Aoki T 2. Photon Counting Study of Reactive Oxygen Scavenging Ability of Foods. J Intl Soc Life Info Science 21(1), 255-289. 2003.

9. Kitamura Y 1, Yoshimura A 2, and Suzuki M 3. Effects of AST chiro Qigong on the cancer proliferative activity and functional expression of cancer suppressor gene P53. J Mind-Body Science 11(1), 19-26. 2002.

10. Kitamura Y 1, Yoshimura A 2, and Suzuki M 3. Effects of AST Chiro qigong on the apoptosis of cancer cells: Histopathological study in gastrointestinal cancer . J Mind-Body Science 11(1), 9-11. 2002.

11. Kitamura K 2, Yoshimura A 2, and Suzuki M 3 . Effects of AST Chiro qigong on the expression of transforming growth factor-beta receptor type I in cancer. J Mind-Body Science 11(2), 21-26. 2002.

12. Astin JA, Shapiro SL, Eisenberg DM, and Forys KL. Mind-body medicine: state of the science, implications for practice. J Am Board Fam Pract 16(2), 131-47. 2003.

13. Kerr C. Translating "mind-in-body": two models of patient experience underlying a randomized controlled trial of qigong. Cult Med Psychiatry 26(4), 419-47. 2002.

14. Carlson LE, Speca M, Patel KD, and Goodey E. Mindfulness-based stress reduction in relation to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress, and immune parameters in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Psychosom Med 65(4), 571-81. 2003.

15. Astin JA, Shapiro SL, Eisenberg DM, and Forys KL. Mind-body medicine: state of the science, implications for practice. J Am Board Fam Pract 16(2), 131-47. 2003.

16. Vroom PS. Meditation as a moderator of the effect of optimism on positive coping for cancer patients. Dissertation Abstracts International B 63(04), 2079. 2002.

17. Duan X 1, Wang Q 1, Yambe T 1, Nitta S 1 and others. J Soc Life Info Sci 21(2), 455-463. 2003.

18. van Dam FS, Goudsmit M, Jonker T, Eeltink CJ and others. [Less use of alternative treatments by cancer patients in 2002 than in 1999][Article in Dutch]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 6(36), 1731-4. 2003.

19. Malik IA and Gopalan S. Use of CAM results in delay in seeking medical advice for breast cancer. Eur J Epidemiol 18(8), 817-22. 2003.

20. van der Weg F and Streuli RA. Use of alternative medicine by patients with cancer in a rural area of Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly 133(15-16), 233-40. 2003.

21. Peace G and Manasse. The Cavendish Centre for integrated cancer care: assessment of patients' needs and responses. Complement Ther Med 10(1), 33-41. 2002.

22. Thompson EA and Reillly D. The homeopathic approach to symptom control in the cancer patient: a prospective observational study. Palliat Med 16(3), 227-33. 2002.

23. Pathak S, Multani AS, Banerji P, and Banerji P. Ruta 6 selectively induces cell death in brain cancer cells but proliferation in normal peripheral blood lymphocytes: A novel treatment for human brain cancer. Int J Oncol 23(4), 975-82. 2003.

24. Thompson EA and Reillly D. The homeopathic approach to symptom control in the cancer patient: a prospective observational study. Palliat Med 16(3), 227-33. 2002.

25. Tacon AM. Meditation as a complementary therapy in cancer. Fam Community Health 26(1), 64-73. 2003.

26. Ott MJ. Mindfulness meditation in pediatric clinical practice. Pediatr Nurs 28(5), 487-90. 2002.

27. Conboy L 1, Junghans L, Rones R, and Kerr C 1. Qualitative study of cancer patients' experiences with and reasons for intensively pursuing qigong, a Chinese meditative exercise therapy. Soc Acupuncture Research, 10th Symposium, 47. 2003.

28. Hately J, Laurence V, Scott A, Baker R and others. Breathlessness clinics within specialist palliative care settings can improve the quality of life and functional capacity of patients with lung cancer. Palliat Med 17(5), 410-7. 2003.

29. Chen KW and Turner FD. Case study of simultaneous recovery from multiple physical symptoms with medical qigong therapy. J Altern Complement Med 10(1), 159-62. 2004.

Disclaimer: The material in the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database ™ has been collected and published for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice. Do not use material in the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™ as a substitute to advice from your personal physician. If you wish to act on some information in the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™, please consult with a knowledgeable physician.