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External qigong for chronic pain.

Ann Vincent1, Jamia Hill, Kelly M Kruk

  • 1Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. vincent.ann@mayo.edu

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
|July 14, 2010
PubMed
Summary

External qigong treatment (EQT) significantly reduced chronic pain intensity compared to attention control. This complementary therapy showed sustained, though not statistically significant, pain reduction at 8-week follow-up.

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Area of Science:

  • Integrative and Complementary Medicine
  • Pain Management
  • Clinical Research

Background:

  • Chronic pain affects a significant portion of the population, often requiring multimodal treatment approaches.
  • Pharmacotherapy is a common treatment for chronic pain, but adjunct therapies are sought to improve outcomes.
  • External qigong treatment (EQT) is a mind-body practice that may offer benefits for pain management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the efficacy of external qigong treatment (EQT) as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain.
  • To compare the effects of EQT versus equivalent attention time (EAT) on pain intensity.
  • To assess the short-term and medium-term impact of EQT on pain severity.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 50 subjects with chronic pain (pain duration > 3 months, pain score >= 3/10).

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  • Participants received weekly 30-minute sessions of either EQT or EAT for four consecutive weeks.
  • Pain intensity was measured using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) before and after sessions, with follow-up at 8 weeks.

    • Main Results:

    • EQT group demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in pain intensity from week 2 through week 4 compared to the EAT group.
    • Significant reductions in pain were observed in the 2nd (p=0.003), 3rd (p<0.001), and 4th (p=0.003) weeks of treatment.
    • While pain intensity remained lower in the EQT group at the 8-week follow-up, the difference was not statistically significant.

    Conclusions:

    • External qigong treatment shows promise as an effective adjunct therapy for managing chronic pain.
    • EQT provides significant short-term pain relief and may offer sustained benefits.
    • Further research is warranted to explore the long-term effects and optimal application of EQT in chronic pain management.