How Do Patients with Chronic Neck Pain Experience the Effects of Qigong?
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July 25, 2016 -
The high prevalence of chronic
neck pain in high income countries impacts quality of life and the social and
work-related activities of those afflicted. Researchers from Germany and
Switzerland performed a qualitative interview study aimed to understand how
mind-body therapies and exercise therapy may influence the experience of pain
among patients with chronic neck pain.
This study investigated how
patients with chronic neck pain experienced the effects of exercise or Qigong therapy at two time points: during an intervention at
three months and after the intervention at six months. Interviews were analyzed
thematically across interviews and within person-cases. Based on other
qualitative studies, a sample size of 20 participants was deemed appropriate.
The sample consisted of 16 women
and four men (age range: 29 to 59). Patients' experiences differed according to
the therapies' philosophies. Exercise therapy group interviewees described a
focus on correct posture and muscle tension release. Qigong group interviewees discussed calming and relaxing
effects. Maintaining regular exercise was easier to achieve with exercise
therapy.
The findings of this study may
help health care providers when counseling chronic pain patients on self-help
interventions by informing them of different bodily and emotional experiences of
mind-body interventions compared to exercise therapy.
This study was published by
Evidence-based complementary and
alternative medicine in June, 2016.
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