Fibromyalgia relief in daily qigong practice

In the old days—say 5,000 years ago—the Chinese knew something very important: Reduce stress and tension in the body or become feeble and suffer in pain. To do this, they experimented with herbs and needles and meditative movements in the hopes of establishing and maintaining their quality of life.

They found that by slowing down, moving in a relaxed manner, regulating their breath, and focusing their intention all at the same time, they could produce a systemic effect on the body that promoted wellness. That method is called qigong, and recent research has found it effective in relieving the leading symptoms of fibromyalgia.  
   

Fibromyalgia, the new disease

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome that still eludes specific definition. While the medical establishment thus far has been unable to pinpoint the exact cause of fibromyalgia, they do characterize it has including pain and “multi somatic symptoms.” One of the key symptoms is extreme pain in several areas of the body, wherein there is tenderness to light touch. Add to this fatigue, digestive issues, disruption of sleep and cognitive impairment, and the issues get a bit complicated.

As I previously wrote, theories of links to viruses and infections, emotional disorders associated with decreased opioid receptor activity and physical trauma are abundant. Some posit fibromyalgia as the body’s reaction to stress or its abnormal response to it.  And like classic migraine sufferers, those with fibromyalgia are sensitive to sounds, an indication of a possible abnormality in sensory processing by the central nervous system.

Because fibromyalgia is a syndrome, and not a disease, it is better to adjust the body systemically in a natural and gentle way, than to create more pain and side effects with pain medication and the like. But how to do that when pain relief in the moment is what patients want?

Ancient Chinese qigong practices may be the way.

Qigong, the basics

Qigong means breath work, or breath cultivation. But more than that it refers to slowing the breath and focusing the intention to build qi, or internal energy. There are many schools of qigong, falling into categories of medical, religious and martial, but all work from the same premise even though their specifics and goal maybe different.

The fundamental practice of qigong involves four things: 1) posture (standing, seated, lying); 2) breath regulation (with chest or abdominal expansion and counting); 3) movement (of one or more body parts); and 4) intention (focusing the mind). The Chinese have a saying that the mind/intention leads the qi/energy. And so one cannot cultivate their qi (energy) if the mind (intention) is not focused on the breath, the posture and the movement. All of these four areas must be in sync for best results. In other words, if moving the hands apart slowly, the movement must be slow and purposeful, the mind focused on the task and the space between the hands, and the breath must start and stop when the hand movement starts and stops.

When done altogether, changes occur in the body—most notably, relaxation and a quieting of the mental chatter that stresses people. From this practice, over time, comes a more supple musculature, less tension and trigger points in the muscles, less obstruction to the flow of blood, lymph and other body fluids, and an overall feeling of lightness and wellbeing. Often times, along with these things people find a renewed energy they forgot they had once possessed.

Recent research published in the journal, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, looked at the positive effects of daily qigong practice on the main symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia and qigong

The authors of the new review article tell how in the mainstream medical and scientific literature, qigong is thought of and labeled as a “meditative movement,” a “mindful exercise” and a “complementary exercise” that is being explored in terms of its potential impact on relieving the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Their approach to culling data was to do a meta-analysis and summarize the results of randomized controlled trials (RCT) and other studies on qigong published up through the end of 2013.

The results were positive and indicate that “regular qigong practice (daily, 6–8 weeks) produces improvements in core domains for fibromyalgia (pain, sleep, impact, and physical and mental function) that are maintained at 4–6 months compared to wait-list subjects or baselines.”

Conclusion

In addition to helping reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia, the researchers had this to say about the ancient Chinese practice:

“Some recent intriguing studies demonstrate that extended qigong practice can lead to changes at a molecular level. Thus, there is a report that extensive qigong practice (1-2hrs daily, for at least a year) leads to altered expression of 250 genes in neutrophils compared to healthy controls, with changes characterized by enhanced immunity, downregulation of cellular metabolism, and alteration in apoptotic genes in favor of resolution of inflammation.”

Not too shabby, and certainly worth doing daily for a period of time to see how qigong practice can make you feel overall. As the researchers noted, the length of daily practice or an extended period showed the greatest results. So don’t just try qigong… make it a part of your wellness lifestyle.

References

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/379715/

Natural Relief For Fibromyalgia Pain

Dr. Mark Wiley

By Dr. Mark Wiley

Dr. Mark Wiley is an internationally renowned mind-body health practitioner, author, motivational speaker and teacher. He holds doctorates in both Oriental and alternative medicine, has done research in eight countries and has developed a model of health and wellness grounded in a self-directed, self-cure approach. Dr. Wiley has written 14 books and more than 500 articles. He serves on the Health Advisory Boards of several wellness centers and associations while focusing his attention on helping people achieve healthy and balanced lives through his work with Easy Health Options® and his company, Tambuli Media.

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