THE EFFECT OF QIGONG ON THERAPEUTIC BALANCING MEASURED BY ELECTROACUPUNCTURE ACCORDING TO VOLL (EAV) - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

Electroacupuncture According to Voll (EAV) was used to monitor the eff ects of qigong practice on therapeutic balancing of subjects. In EAV t he electrical conductance of the skin above individual acupuncture poi nts is measured using low voltage and current. Diagnosis depends on me asuring the relative electrical conductance and its time dependence. A n important diagnostic criterion of degeneration of an organ is an ind icator drop which occurs during the measurement when the conductance d ecreases from an apparent maximum value and then levels off. Two serie s of EAV measurements were made before and after healthy subjects prac ticed qigong. Measurements were made at 24 acupuncture points at the e nds of the meridians of the fingers and toes of a subject and were mad e by the same operator and equipment. The subjects were asked to perfo rm a qigong exercise of their choosing. In the first series, four subj ects were examined by EAV before and after qigong exercise. Qigong exe rcise decreased the average EAV measured values of the four subjects i n the range of -19 to -31%. Qigong eliminated indicator drops for thre e subjects and reduced the indicator drop by 80% for the fourth subjec t. In the second series, each of seven subjects was examined by EAV th ree times in a blind protocol so that the operator did not know whethe r a subject had practiced qigong before the second or third examinatio n. Qigong exercise changed the average EAV measured values in the rang e of -17 to -35% for four subjects and 4 to 15% for three subjects. In dicator drops appeared for three subjects, and they were eliminated fo r two subjects and reduced by 50% for the third subject. These prelimi nary studies indicate that EAV can monitor the effects of qigong on ch anges in the therapeutic balancing of the meridian-organ system. Sugge stions are made of how EAV can provide basic information about qigong and its application.