Effects of taijiquan and qigong practice over behavioural disorders in school-age children: A pilot study

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2019

Authors

Jorge Manuel S. M. Rodrigues (Author) Other; Mariana Isabel C. P. Mestre (Author) Other; Luís Carlos Matos (Author) FEUP; Jorge Pereira Machado (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies

Vol. 23 No. 1

Pages: 11-15

ISSN: 1360-8592

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00N-V08

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2018.01.019

Abstract (EN): Child development and wellness are strictly dependent on several factors among them physical activity, a proper nutrition and, of critical importance, a healthy mind. Psychopathologies like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) have a direct negative impact on social, academic or occupational functioning of the affected children. If left untreated, these pathologies may progress to adulthood, thus requiring research strategies on conventional and nonconventional modalities of treatment. In this pilot study, conducted during the academic year 2015/2016, a combination of exercises of TaijiQuan (TJQ) and Qi Gong (QG) were taught to four selected children, three males and one female, aged between 6 and 10, suffering from the above mentioned behavioural disorders. The main goal was to understand if it is possible to achieve any kind of improvement in their condition, by evaluating the scores of the Achenbach Teacher's Report Form (TRF) in the beginning and ending of the experimental period. Results showed very interesting improvements in symptoms of CD, ODD and ADHD-HI (hyperactive-impulsive), while ADHD-PI (predominantly inattentive) showed only minor improvements. The overall symptom improvement was 43% across pathologies, which demonstrates that TJQ and QG may be a promising treatment of symptoms for children with behavioural disorders. More research is needed with controlled experimental designs and statistically representative samples in order to fully comprehend the versatility of these modalities.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 5