Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, is a growing threat to people's health. Anything that can lessen or ward off symptoms is a welcome discovery. Chi kung, also called qigong, is a form of exercise in Chinese medicine. More studies are needed and none drew definitive conclusions that qigong will work in every circumstance, but research has shown a promising ability to help lower glucose levels in diabetics.
Definition
Qigong is a type of Traditional Chinese Medicine involving slow, relaxing exercise and breathing. It is divided into medical, martial and spiritual forms, with medical being the more commonly known form. Medical qigong is further divided into external and internal forms, involving tai-chi-like movements and meditation, respectively. Medical qigong is not meant to be a strength-building exercise like weightlifting.
Effects
Qigong's effects on different aspects of diabetes have been studied with qigong as a secondary activity -- in other words, it wasn't used in place of any medications or other treatments -- and it is not a new subject. A study from 1999, published in "The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine," looked at an exercise called qigong walking and how it affected diabetic subjects compared with regular walking after meals. Gigong and regular walking reduced blood glucose levels, but qigong walking didn't raise subjects' pulses as much as regular walking, making qigong a more relaxing exercise. A 2009 study in "Diabetes Care" looked at 32 type-2 diabetics undergoing 12 weeks of qigong as a complementary therapy and found not only reductions in blood glucose levels, but also improving insulin resistance and A1C, a hemoglobin measurement that reveals average blood glucose.
Considerations
Although the results of studies on qigong and diabetes are positive regarding its potential use as a therapy for diabetes, reviews of these studies note a preponderance of poor design or lack of control groups, leading to a more unenthusiastic view of the results. A 2007 review in "The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine" and two 2009 reviews in "Complementary Therapies in Medicine" and "The American Journal of Chinese Medicine" said more randomized control studies and better design were necessary to fully evaluate whether qigong could play a role in diabetes control.
Cautions
The Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego warns that qigong can affect blood flow by thinning the blood and increasing circulation in the body. Because of this, qigong is not a recommended activity for anyone with internal bleeding. In rare cases, qigong can lead to hallucinations in mentally stable people; this condition is called qigong-induced psychosis and qi-gong psychotic reaction. At least two case studies have been documented, one in 1996 and another in 2007. Both were published in "Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry."
References
- UMM.edu: Diabetes
- "Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry": Qi-Gong Psychotic Reaction in a Chinese American Woman
- "Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry": Cultural Formulation of Psychiatric Diagnosis
- Pub Med.gov: Qigong for Type 2 Diabetes Care: a Systematic Review
- Pub Med.gov: An Analytical Review of the Chinese Literature on Qigong Therapy for Diabetes Mellitus
- Pub Med.gov: A Qualitative Review of the Role of Qigong in the Management of Diabetes
