Efficacy of Qi-therapy (external Qigong) for elderly people with chronic pain.

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.