Reproducibility in qigong research the challenge

During the 1980’s, two opposing camps began to form in the Qigong community. Both sides considered the human to be an
entity imbued with the vital energy Qi, but they differed over their views as to whether Qi could be “emitted” to treat patients.
Proponents of one camp believed that therapeutic effects observed in patients receiving treatment from a Qigong practitioner resulted from the power of suggestion. Scientists from this camp claimed to have conducted experiments in which cues from the practitioner were blocked from the patient, and so were the effects. In the other camp, however, many scientists continued to believe that Qi could be “emitted” to influence health and refer to reports of successful in vitro experiments in which psychological cues are eliminated. The conflict between these two camps remains unresolved today primarily because of the experiments touted by both camps have not been replicated. Reproducibility is universally accepted as one of the most important criteria for scientifically establishing the existence of a claimed phenomenon and may present a unique challenge to Qigong research. The Qigong community needs to focus limited resources to meet this challenge.