May 27, 2022 - Previous preliminary studies have found that qigong exercises produced significant effects in healthy people and in various clinical populations. A study recently published by the journal Front Psychiatry systematically reviewed the effects of Qigong and Tai Chi exercise on individuals with drug addiction.
A systematic search of seven English databases and three Chinese databases was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized comparative studies (NRS) assessing the effects of Qigong and Tai Chi on drug addiction.
Two RCTs and nine NRS studies were included in this study, including a total of 1072 patients with drug addiction (age range, 27-43 years). The results showed that Qigong and Tai Chi exercise had a significant overall effect on depression, anxiety, quality of life, and sleep quality. The subgroup analysis found that Qigong outperformed Tai Chi on the improving depression, anxiety, and sleep quality.