By
Jeremy Duda
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Qigong benefits both body and mind
Several doctors and researchers at the University Medical Center have begun treating patients waiting for heart transplants with an ancient Chinese practice.
Qigong - pronounced chee-gong - is a therapeutic technique that has been used in China for 2,000 years. It combines gentle movements with breathing exercises and meditation.
The practice is intended to realign the chi, or life force, for the person using it. This is supposed to reduce stress and induce a sense of peace and well-being.
The program was started by UMC heart transplant surgeon Jack Copeland and UA nutritional sciences researcher Lorie Manciet to help patients who are hooked up to artificial heart machines while awaiting donor organs.
Patients who are on the machines routinely go through physical rehabilitation programs to keep their strength up, but qigong focuses on more than the physical.
"I think we need to focus on the whole person, not just their body and organs but their mind and psyche," Copeland said.
"In addition to the exercise they're doing, we hope the qigong will supplement that," Manciet added.
Patients who are waiting for donor hearts spend an average of 120 days on artificial heart machines, although the record at UMC is about 13 months. Seven patients are currently on these machines at UMC, three of whom are participating in the program.
While on the machines, patients experience a total lack of privacy, Copeland said - even using the bathroom requires assistance.
"It's dehumanizing, so it's important to have something that makes you feel human," he said.
The roots of the program lay in Manciet, a colleague of Copeland's, who learned of qigong during a 10-month stint with the UA Integrated Medicine Program.
Another ailment potential transplant patients sometimes suffer from is depression caused by a lack of control over their lives, although not all patients suffer from this.
"I wouldn't say that most of the patients are depressed - most are stressed and frustrated. This is something that sort of empowers them," Copeland said.
One of the main goals of the program is to make patients better candidates for transplant surgery. There is evidence in Chinese medical journals that qigong strengthens the cardiovascular system, she said.
The program is currently funded by a grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institute for Health. If it shows positive results after two years, Manciet and Copeland will apply to the NIH for grants to continue their research.
