Effects of Health Qigong Exercises on Physical Function on Patients with Parkinson's Disease Author: Zhirong Wan1, Xiaolei Liu2, Hui Yang3, Fang Li2, Lingling Yu4, Lei Li5, Yulin Wang6, Hao Jiang7, Junjie Zou8, Jichen Du1 Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Neurology, Aerospace Central Hospital, Beijing, 100049, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>2</sup> Chinese Traditional Regimen Exercise Intervention Research Center, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>3</sup> China Wushu Academy, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>4</sup> Physical Education School of Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>5</sup> School of Physical Education, Lu Dong University, Shandong, 264011, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>6</sup> Division of Sports Science and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>7</sup> School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518172, People&#39;s Republic of China. <sup>8</sup> Neurology Department, Yantai Penglai People&#39;s Hospital, Yantai, 265600, People&#39;s Republic of China. Conference/Journal: J Multidiscip Healthc Date published: 2021 Apr 28 Other: Volume ID: 14 , Pages: 941-950 , Special Notes: doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S303945. , Word Count: 257 Purpose: To measure motor function improvements in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) using Health Qigong exercises. Patients and methods: Fifty-two PD patients (Hoehn and Yahr stages I to IV) were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Twenty-six PD patients in the experimental group were intervened with routine medicine and fitness Qigong exercise. The other 26 PD patients as the control group were treated only with regular medication. Twelve-week intervention had been conducted for the study, and participants completed the scheduled exercises 4 times per week for 60 minutes each time. Data which included the one-legged blind balance, physical coordination, and gait was collected before, during, and after the intervention. Comparisons were made between the experimental and control groups through the repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: A total of 40 participants (77% response rate) completed the study. There was no significant difference in baseline data. After 12 weeks of Health Qigong therapy, the length of time the one-legged blind balance test had increased (P < 0.01), and the time it took to TUG test was reduced (P < 0.01). Joint range of motion and gait significantly improved. The control group's there were no significant differences in the above variables, except for joint range of motion, which decreased. Conclusion: Health Qigong exercises can significantly improve physical functions in patients with PD, especially for the balance ability, gait, joint range of motion in patients with PD. It can reduce their activity risk factor and improve their quality of life. Keywords: Health Qigong exercise; Parkinson’s disease; balance; gait; motor function. PMID: 33953563 PMCID: PMC8091455 DOI: 10.2147/JMDH.S303945