Although aging is known as a natural phenomenon, it is proved that those who take qigong exercise have got good effects on treating their disorders, strengthening their health, and promoting their longevity. And in our clinical practice, we have also got certain satisfactory results by applying qigong exercise (non-medical therapy) to treat the disorders of the retired workers. Now, we give the primary report as follows:
1. Subjects observed.
There were 200 retired workers,100 males and 100 females; their age ranged from 52 to 76, averaging 65.7 for males and 63.5 for females. They were divided into 2 groups: the qigong exercise group and the control group, each group consisting of 50 males and 50 females.
2. Kind of qigong exercise and the time needed
The main qigong exercise used was Emei Nei Gong (one kind of qigong exercises of the Emei School), including Anmo Gong (a kind of breathing exercise with massage), Fangsong Gong (a kind of relaxation breathing exercise), and Liubu Yangshang Gong (one kind of breathing exercise for preserving one's health by walking a set of 6 steps). This qigong exercise was taken at least half an hour by the group.
3. Methods and results
Besides the clinical observation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) was determined and it, as we know, is a multimolecular biological enzyme, which is not easy to be oxidized and which can promote the function of cells and prevent them from intoxication [oxidation?] by relieving its free radical group, thus promoting human immunological function and preserving health. The active SOD in erythrocytes was determined by using a fast microquantitative analysis, and the result showed that the level of SOD of the female qigong group was 2718.15±593.6 µ/g Hb while that of the female control group was 1704.3±572.84 µ/g Hb; by comparison, the mean value of SOD of the qigong group is significantly higher than that of the control group (p<O.001) .The mean value of SOD of the men in the control group was 1678.18±484.14 µ/g Hb while that in the qigong group was 2740.85±602.16 µ/g Hb; by comparison, the difference was significant (p<O.001). The result showed that the qigong exercise was able to make our body produce an extraordinary proteinaceous substance superoxide dismutase, which could remove the other harmful superoxides by dismutation, thus having the effect to keep our body in good health.
In short, taking the qigong exercise can stimulate the physical metabolism, promote the circulation of meridians and regulate the flowing of qi and blood, thus preventing and treating our disorders and promoting our longevity. In the meanwhile, medical therapy, as we know, can only treat limited kinds of diseases and it may also produce a lot of side-effects; and in our institute, after the qigong exercise was applied and SOD level was determined by the double blind method, the result we got was rather satisfactory. This result suggests that taking the qigong exercise may keep old man in good health, make them energetic and promote their longevity. Therefore, we suggest that the qigong exercise should be seriously considered as a subject which is worth further studying.
