By Keith I. Block, MD
Though many forms of exercise seem fairly mechanical in their execution, some are more grounded in the realm of awareness and mindfulness. The latter include Tai Chi and Qigong (pronounced Chee-Gung), both of which are more generally referred to as meditation in motion. This is because, although each type of exercise does involve some form of movement or body positioning, their practice also entails a focus on relaxed breathing and the cultivation of a clear, calm state of mind. If you have cancer, these gentle forms of exercise can markedly improve your energy levels and quality of life—and may even help in your recovering physically and emotionally from cancer and its treatment.
One of the leading investigators of meditative movement is Karen Mustian, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and research assistant professor in Radiation Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Following chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Dr. Mustian randomly assigned 21 breast cancer patients in Greensboro, North Carolina, to either a three-month Tai Chi program or a support group. Whereas the support group experienced no overall reduction in cancer-related fatigue and no significant improvement in quality of life, patients practicing Tai Chi showed a steady improvement in their energy levels, mood, self-esteem and quality of life, as reported in the March 2006 Journal of Supportive Oncology.
Tai Chi is an excellent weight-bearing exercise and therefore can help improve bone health, a problem for many patients who have received treatments that exact a toll on the bones. Most recently, Dr. Mustian and her colleagues reported that Tai Chi significantly reduced bone loss in breast cancer survivors, as reported in the June 2010 issue of Clinical Breast Cancer. In addition to these benefits, Dr. Mustian reports that Tai Chi seems to improve strength, flexibility and heart and lung function in women with metastatic breast cancer.
Traditional Chinese doctors have long used Qigong, another form of meditative movement, as a way to prevent and cure ailments, and to improve health and energy levels through regular practice. To date, five controlled clinical trials have shown favorable effects of Qigong for people with cancer. However, a recent systematic review concluded that most of the clinical studies done to date have been poorly designed. Nevertheless, at least two randomized clincial trials indicated that Qigong prolonged survival in cancer patients, as reported in the June 2007 issue of Acta Oncologica.
Most of us in the West first learned about the Qigong’s cancer-fighting impact from the Second World Conference on Academic Exchange of Medical Qigong in 1993. Scientists at the conference reported on a study of 122 cancer patients in China and offered the following conclusion: The longer the Qigong was practiced, the greater the inhibition of tumor growth and reduction in pain. Qigong practitioners also had more stable immune system functioning, fewer side effects of chemotherapy, and a much higher percentage of tumor regressions than non-practitioners. In a separate study, the Qigong practitioners had a five-fold greater response to the chemotherapy compared to non-practitioners.
Qigong is done in two basic ways, internal and external. Internal qigong is self-directed and actively engages people in their own health. Daily practice is encouraged for health maintenance and disease prevention. By contrast, external qigong is done by a practitioner such as a Qigong master or Traditional Chinese Doctor. Although neither type of Qigong is well understood in terms of the underlying mechanisms of action, there are published reports that go beyond the purposed therapeutic benefits for cancer patients.
In laboratory studies, for example, external Qigong triggered “programmed cell death” (apoptosis) in aggressive prostate cancer cells, as reported in the March 2008 issue of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry. In another lab report published two years earlier, external Qigong was found to be toxic to cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
As you can see, the benefits of exercise are by no means restricted to aerobic activity or resistance training. The advantage of practicing something as gentle as Tai Chi or Qigong is that it’s virtually impossible to overdo it: The practice involves slow, graceful, continuous movements that engender a state of relaxed alertness in the practitioner. As with yoga, both Tai Chi and Qigong can most certainly improve your quality of life, and I consider these low-impact, meditative forms of exercise to be safe and useful component to include as part of your integrative cancer treatment program.
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