Effect of qigong on therapeutic balancing measured by electroacupuncture according to Voll (EAV)

Electroacupuncture According to Voll (EAV) was used to monitor the effects of qigong on therapeutic balancing of subjects. In EAV the electrical conductance of the skin above an individual acupuncture point is measured using a blunt metal probe and a low current. Diagnosis depends on measuring the maximum electrical conductance and its time dependence. The conductance is measured by a meter that is calibrated from O to 100. A reading of 50 indicates that the organ associated with the acupuncture point is free of pathological problems. Higher readings (higher conductance) are associated with inflammation and lower readings (lower conductance) with degeneration of an organ. ln EAV, 'indicator drop' is an important diagnostic criterion of a functionally disturbed organ. Indicator drops occur when the conductance of a given acupuncture point decreases from an apparent maximum value and then levels off.

EAV measurements were made before and after eleven subjects practiced qigong. Measurements requiring about 5 minutes were made of the conductance properties at 24 acupuncture points at the ends of the meridians of the fingers and toes of a subject. The instrumental test parameters were: 1.25 volts d. c. output voltage, 12.7 microamperes current output at full scale, and 95,000 ohms resistance at midscale (50). Tap water was applied to the skin surface in the region of the acupuncture point before pressing a brass probe (1/8” in diameter) gently onto the acupuncture point. The subject held the other electrode in one hand. The computer was programed to provide information on twenty organs and physiological functions of the body for the right and left side of the body.

Two series of EAV measurements were made by the same operator and equipment. In both series, the subjects were asked to perform a qigong exercise of their choosing, usually meditation or moving qigong. In the first series, four subjects were examined by EAV before and after qigong exercise. Three of the subjects were experienced qigong practitioners. The fourth subject was balanced by one of the qigong practitioners. The results show that qigong practice decreased the average meter readings of the four subjects taken as a group from 70.8±4. 8 to 52.7±2.4. The average change was -25.5±4.9% with a statistical significance of p=.004. Indicator drops that were observed for all subjects prior to qigong decreased in value after qigong practice. For example, the sum of all indicator drops for each of three subjects decreased in value from 20, 22 and 53 to zero, respectively, and for the fourth subject it decreased from 129 to 28.

The second series of measurements was made six months later with seven subjects. Each of the subjects was examined by EAV three times, but the subjects did not reveal until afterward whether they had practiced qigong before the second or third examination. This 'blind' protocol insured that the operator did not know when a subject had practiced qigong. For four subjects the average EAV readings were decreased by qigong practice from 72.3±7.6 to 53.0±9.8 (-27.3±7.6%) and increased for three subjects from 66.5±12.7 to 73.1±10.4 (+10.3±5.7%). When indicator drops were present in a subject's EAV before qigong, they decreased or became zero after qigong practice.

The results of this preliminary study indicate that EAV is responsive to changes associated with qigong practice. Therefore .EAV may provide basic information on how qigong balances body energy and affects specific meridians or organs.