Matos Luís Carlos, Machado Jorge, Greten Henry Johannes, Monteiro Fernando Jorge
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.
ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal; LABIOMEP - Biomechanics Laboratory of Porto, University of Porto, 4200-450, Porto, Portugal.
J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2019 Oct;23(4):713-720. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2019.02.021. Epub 2019 Feb 27.
Qigong is a therapeutic method of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that combines slow, soft movements and postures with breath control and a special mental state of 'awareness'. TCM holds that the practice of Qigong promotes the 'circulation of qi' in the human body, the 'flow' of upward yang qi and downward yin qi to establish 'balance'. In Western terms, this may be generally equivalent to vegetative homeostasis and the emotionally balanced state induced thereby. Researchers have often attempted to evaluate the functional movements of qi using measurements of the skin's electrical resistance. However, these methodologies have proven difficult to gauge, validate, repeat, and interpret. We aimed to overcome these limitations by measuring the skin's electrical potential between two points of the same system. The main goal of this study was to assess the skin's electrical potential changes in acupoints from the Ren Mai and Du Mai conduits, or meridians, as well as in other points of interest, during Qigong practice. While participants performed a specific Qigong exercise called 'White Ball', we observed significant changes in the skin electrical potential on Mìngmén (GV 4), Shèndáo (GV 11) and Baihuì (GV 20), from the Du Mai conduit, as well as on Huiyin (CV 1), Qìhai (CV 6), Zhongwan (CV 12) and Dànzhong (CV 17), from Ren Mai. These observations are in accordance with TCM theory and may contribute to the explanation of the vegetative physiological changes that are associated with 'qi flow' in TCM.
气功是中医的一种治疗方法，它将缓慢、柔和的动作与呼吸控制以及一种特殊的“觉知”心理状态相结合。中医认为，气功练习能促进人体的“气循环”，即阳气上升、阴气下降的“流动”以建立“平衡”。用西方术语来说，这大致相当于植物性稳态以及由此产生的情绪平衡状态。研究人员常常试图通过测量皮肤电阻来评估气的功能活动。然而，这些方法已被证明难以测量、验证、重复和解释。我们旨在通过测量同一系统两点之间的皮肤电势来克服这些局限性。本研究的主要目的是评估在气功练习过程中，任脉和督脉经络穴位以及其他感兴趣穴位的皮肤电势变化。当参与者进行一种名为“白气球”的特定气功练习时，我们观察到督脉的命门（GV 4）、神道（GV 11）和百会（GV 20）以及任脉的会阴（CV 1）、气海（CV 6）、中脘（CV 12）和膻中（CV 17）的皮肤电势有显著变化。这些观察结果与中医理论相符，可能有助于解释中医中与“气流动”相关的植物性生理变化。
