EFFICACY OF QI-THERAPY (EXTERNAL QIGONG) FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC PAIN

Intern. J. Neuroscience, 115:949 963, 2005

2005 Taylor & Francis Inc.

ISSN: 0020-7454 / 1543-5245 online DOI: 10.1080/00207450590901378

EFFICACY OF QI-THERAPY (EXTERNAL QIGONG) FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC PAIN

KYUNG HEE YANG YOUNG HEE KIM

Department of Nursing Wonkwang Health Science College Iksan, Republic of Korea MYEONG SOO LEE Center for Integrative Medicine Institute of Medical Science Wonkwang University Iksan, Republic of Korea

To test the efficacy of Qi-therapy (external Qigong) in improving symptoms of pain and mood states in elderly peoples with chronic pain. Forty-three elderly people with chronic pain were randomly assigned either to an intervention or a general care group. The intervention group was given four weeks of Qi-therapy whereas the control group was given standard care. Compared with the control group, Qi-therapy participants experienced improvements in positive mood and psychological variables over the four-week program. Compared with baseline values, pain and psychological benefits remained significantly improved after two weeks of follow-up. These findings suggest that Qi-therapy may help the elderly cope with pain and associated mood disturbances.

Keywords elderly, mood, pain, Qigong, Qi-therapy