Science on Qi

News of the Field / 227 Many Daozang texts are also found at the website of the Minglong gong 明龍宮 in Taipei: http://www.ctcwri.idv.tw/CTCWRI­MTS/CH000.htm. The texts derive from the Zhonghua Daozang. They seem to have been scanned since, at least within some texts, certain characters are consistently wrong. —Fabrizio Pregadio Daoist Iconography Project (DIP), under the guidance of Poul Andersen, University of Hawai’i, proudly announces that its collected materials are now available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/daoist­iconography /index.htm. Science on Qi Qigong Research Chen, K.W., Perlman, A., Liao, J.G., Lam, A., Staller, J.,& Sigal, L.H. (2008). Effects of external qigong therapy on osteoarthritis of the knee: A randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rheumatology, 27:1497‑1505. ‑ ‑ One hundred twelve adults with knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to external qi healing or sham treatment (control group); 106 participants completed treatment and were analyzed. Two therapists provided five to six external qi healing sessions over three weeks. Healer one, with more than 15 years healing experience, was a lineage holder in an unnamed Daoist tradition who was famous for his anticancer treatment in China. Healer two, also trained in China with more than 35 years experience, was a fifth generation member of a qigong healing family. Both healers emitted qi to the painful area using similar and different techniques. Pa‑ tients treated by healer two reported greater reduction in pain and im‑ proved physical functioning that persisted for three months after com‑ pletion of treatment compared to controls. There was no significant dif‑ ference in outcomes between participants treated by healer one and those in the sham control group. 228 / Journal of Daoist Studies 2 (2009) Guo, X., Zhou, B., Nishimura, T., Teramukai, S., & Fukushima, M. (2008). Clinical effect of qigong practice on essential hypertension: A meta‑ analysis of randomized controlled trials. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14.1:27‑37. ‑ ‑ Ninety‑two research studies were identified, and 9 of these met selection criteria for quality to be included in the meta‑analysis comprising a total of 908 cases. Those practicing qigong showed significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. These reductions were greater than those experienced by non‑ specific intervention control group members but not superior to partici‑ pants in drug control groups or conventional exercise control groups. Results that qigong is more effective in reducing blood pressure than no treatment and equal in effectiveness to other forms of exercise and drug treatment. Qigong combined with drugs has a more positive effect than drug treatment alone. Energy Psychology Research Feinstein, D. (2008). Energy psychology: A Review of the preliminary evidence. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 45.2:199‑213. ‑ ‑ Energy psychology is a controversial, new approach to psychotherapy that combines attention and visualization paired with tapping acupunc‑ ture points while being guided by a therapist to focus on specific thoughts and emotions. This is the first published review of research findings. Although preliminary, the evidence shows that this treatment seems to be effective for some phobias and for maintaining weight loss. Taijiquan Research Hackney, M.E., & Earhart, G.M. (2008). Tai chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson disease. Gait & Posture, 28:456‑460. ‑ ‑ Thirty‑three participants with Parkinson disease were randomly as‑ signed to either a group receiving 20, one‑hour long, weekly tai chi train‑ ing sessions completed over 10‑13 weeks or a no‑treatment control group that received only pre‑ and post‑intervention measurement. The tai chi group improved more than the control group on several measures of balance. All tai chi participants also reported improvements in physical well‑being. News of the Field / 229 Kerr, C.E., Shaw, J.R., Wasserman, R.H., Chen, V.W., Kanojia, A., Bayer, T., & Kelley, J.M. (2008). Tactile acuity in experienced tai chi practitioners: Evidence for use dependent plasticity as an effect of sensory‑attentional training. Experimental Brain Research, 188.2:317‑322. ‑ ‑ Fourteen tai chi practitioners were compared to 14 control participants matched for gen‑ der and age who were recruited from the local community. All partici‑ pants were screened to exclude those with diminished tactile acuity due to a variety of causes...