Baduanjin – a form of Qigong – may reduce knee osteoarthritis

qigong, qigong health, qigong arthritis, arthritis exercise, arthritis help, arthritis support, complementary therapy arthritis, arthritis digestBaduanjin exercise, a common form of Chinese Qigong exercise that consists of eight movements of low intensity, may have favourable effects for people with knee arthritis, a team reports in Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

A group looked at the research that had been done and found that although the evidence isn’t of a great quality, there are some positive trends:

  • People who took part in Baduanjin exercises found their levels of pain, stiffness and physical function improved compared to health education;
  • Baduanjin exercises plus nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduced knee arthritis symptoms more than if people just took nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

“Baduanjin exercise may have favourable effects for knee osteoarthritis patients,” the team concludes. “However, further rigorously designed randomised controlled trials are warranted before it can be recommended.”

For more information on qigong, click here for a review published in Arthritis Digest. 

Arthritis Digest Magazine was selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 5 Arthritis Blogs on the internet in 2019.

For more in-depth features, interviews and information, subscribe to Arthritis Digest magazine, a popular title that’s published six times a year. Click here for the digital version or tel 0845 643 8470 to order your had copy. You’ll know what your doctor is talking about, what new drugs are in the pipeline and be up to date on helpful products.