07.28.09
Posted in Qigong at 10:07 am by Dr. Pharm Tao
Autism is a severe problem in children. The disease’s core deficits include sensory impairment, impaired socialization, behavioral disturbances, and bowel and sleep problems. Researchers studied the effects of the Cignolini methodology on autism (Silva et al., 2007). This is a Qigong massage methodology.
In the study, a total of 13 children with autism (ages 3-6) received daily treatment of the Qigong methodology for 5 months. The study found that children received the Qigong treatment had significant improvement of their sensory impairment. Using standardized measurements, the study showed that treated children also had increased social skills and basic living skills. Furthermore, those children with bowel and sleep abnormalities had significant improvement after the treatment.
These findings suggest that Qigong massage may be a useful treatment method for relieving problems of autism in young children. Further studies with larger scales are still needed to confirm such effects.
Reference:
Silva, L. M., Cignolini, A., et al. (2007) Improvement in sensory impairment and social interaction in young children with autism following treatment with an original Qigong massage methodology. Am J Chin Med 35, 393-406.
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07.27.09
Posted in Qigong at 10:43 am by Dr. Pharm Tao
Researchers studied the effects of Qigong practice among chronically ill patients during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2007). Researchers investigated how the practice influenced the social context of Hong Kong during the outbreak.
A total of 30 participants from three Qigong classes were involved in the study. The researchers observed that both the underlying and trigger motivations helped the chronically ill patients to practice qigong. The underlying motivations included legitimacy of qigong in health maintenance and unpleasant experiences in Western treatment. Trigger motivations included discrimination against the chronically ill and the searching of coping strategy.
The study found that to the participants, qigong improved their health and served as a coping strategy to regain an active control. The practice helped the patients to overcome the social discrimination during the outbreak. The study suggests that Qigong may be a helpful method to support chronic ill patients both physically and psychologically during an epidemic crisis. Further studies will help elucidate the mechanisms of such effects.
Reference:
Siu, J. Y., Sung, H. C., et al. (2007) Qigong practice among chronically ill patients during the SARS outbreak. J Clin Nurs 16, 769-776.
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07.19.09
Posted in Qigong at 6:49 pm by Dr. Pharm Tao
Qigong training has been found to relieve psychosomatic and physical symptoms through adjusting the sympathetic nervous system. Researchers in Sweden studied the effects of Qigong on stress in computer operators (Skoglund and Jansson, 2007).
A total of 10 women were involved in the study. Researchers measured the testing subjects’ heart rate, blood pressure, and finger temperature at the beginning and the end of the working day during 5 weeks. They also measured catecholamine excretion in the urine.
The study found that Qigong training decreased noradrenaline excretion in urine, and adjusted the heart rate and temperature. These changes suggest decreased activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Qigong was also found to relieve low-back symptoms.
These findings indicate that Qigong training may relieve stress in those with intense computer work. Further studies with larger scale of trials are necessary to confirm the results and to find out the mechanisms.
Reference:
Skoglund, L. and Jansson, E. (2007) Qigong reduces stress in computer operators. Complement Ther Clin Pract 13, 78-84.
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