Can an ancient Chinese healing practice that reportedly moves energy through the body improve the overall physical and mental health of older adults living in long-term care facilities?
That was the basic question behind a collaborative pilot study between Benedictine Health System and the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing. The study hoped to measure whether a meditative exercise movement known as Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) would improve balance and lessen pain among these seniors with memory loss. The study was funded with a $53,910 pilot research grant from a University of Minnesota initiative designed to promote research collaborations between the university and the community.
Ten residents in the assisted living memory care program at BHS's Cerenity Senior Care — Marian of Saint Paul (Minn.) actively participated in the eight-week study. They learned several of the eight Qigong movements, which are similar to tai chi, and practiced them for 30 minutes three times a week. Another 20 residents participated in the study sporadically — some declined to join the group on certain days, while others with severe dementia couldn't focus on the movements for very long. The facility held all of the Qigong sessions at the same time and on the same days for the eight weeks. Benedictine and the university center conducted the study in March and April of 2011 and released the results in September.
Phyllis Gaspar, director of research for BHS Foundation, said while the results of the study were not statistically significant, certain trends did emerge.
"Eight of the 10 residents in the high-engagement group were interviewed and self-reported a decrease in pain," she related. Researchers compared those residents to others who participated in the exercises only occasionally as well as residents in a similar BHS facility not practicing Qigong.
Gaspar related an anecdote from the daughter of one of the Qigong participants who was hospitalized because of a stroke. "The daughter had been with the mother at some of the Qigong sessions and implemented some of the components with her mother during painful procedures (at the hospital), and it effectively decreased her pain," said Gaspar. "The hospital's acute care staff was impressed."
Gaspar added that one of the biggest benefits of the study was training activities staff at two BHS facilities in Qigong so they can integrate the movements into exercise routines with residents.
"If we do Qigong over time, we can start to see if there is a change in agitation in the residents or if they require less medication," said Gaspar.
Kelly Spataro, housing manager at Cerenity-Marian, noticed better posture among some of the residents who participated in the study. "Some were also calmer, not so anxious and didn't get upset as often," she added.
"What was most enlightening was watching the residents do something they had never done before. By the end of the study, it was very natural for them," Spataro continued. "I would see some sitting on the couch, doing the Qigong movements when a little music came on. I don't know if they even realized that they were doing it. But moving the energy through their bodies made them a little more peaceful."
She added that "empowering residents through innovation and looking for alternative ways to help them" is part of Cerenity's mission. "Using something as meditative and nonintrusive as Qigong most certainly does that," she said.
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