Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2003; 8: 512
External Qi therapy is a process by which vital energy (Qi) is transmitted from a Qi-master to another person for the purpose of preventing and curing disease, as well as protecting and improving health through regulation of mind and body. Some believe that Qi therapy is effective because it not only reduces sympathetic activity, but also enhances parasympathetic activity. Hence, the autonomic nervous function has been a subject of interest in the physiological studies of Qi training.
Forty normal healthy subjects were recruited and randomly assigned into intervention and placebo control group. The power spectrum of heart rate was examined pre and post-interventions.
It was found that Qi therapy increases the high-frequency (HF) power and decreases the low frequency (LF) power and LF/HF ratio of heart rate variability. These results support the hypothesis that Qi therapy increases cardiac parasympathetic tone.
Our study reveals that Qi therapy in healthy young subjects increases the HF power and decreases the LF/HF ratio of HRV. These results support that Qi-therapy increases the cardiac parasympathetic tone in healthy young subjects compared with placebo control. The augmented HRV in Qi-trainees provides further support for long-term Qi-training as a possible non-pharmacological cardio-protective manoeuvre.
