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The purpose of this critical review is to summarise the current evidence for clinicians of both traditional Chinese and Western medicines in order to facilitate informed recommendations and decision-making about qigong. Materials and Methods ‘Qigong’ was queried on PubMed with appropriate filters. Eleven systematic reviews were chosen to demonstrate the best evidence for qigong. Results Five clinically relevant conclusions were made based on current evidence for qigong. (1) Qigong seems to be at least equivalent to exercise in multiple randomised controlled trials for diabetes, hypertension, depression and pulmonary function. (2) Qigong is a good joint-healthy option for patients who have difficulty exercising or who are at risk for exercise-related injury; it should especially be considered in the elderly population. (3) Since qigong appears to be more effective than walking or conventional exercise for depression and is additive to usual treatment, it is a good choice of exercise modality for patients with a comorbidity of depression. (4) Qigong appears to be a good option for patients not wishing to add a second antihypertensive medication or who want to obtain tighter control of their blood pressure. (5) The evidence for qigong is good but not firm. Given that the adverse events from qigong is exceedingly minimal, and given the relatively low cost, the threshold for clinical recommendations should be lower than the threshold for more risky therapies. Conclusion There is good evidence supporting the health benefits of qigong for many conditions, but it may never be firm evidence. Qigong also has benefits beyond regular exercise and can be a valuable tool when formulating treatment plans for patients with multiple comorbidities. Clinicians need to make the decision about qigong recommendations based on the available data and weigh that with risks and costs.

Examining the evidence for medical Qigong exercise in the context of clinician recommendations and health system implementation: A critical review