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Researchers have shed fresh light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure.
Baduanjin is a form of exercise that’s been widely practiced in China for at least 800 years. It involves a series of eight slow movements, gentle breathing and meditation — and typically takes only about 10 minutes to complete.
In a clinical trial, researchers studied 216 adults age 40 and older with Stage 1 hypertension. Over the course of a year, participants performed either baduanjin, self-directed exercise or brisk walking.
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Researchers found that participants who practiced baduanjin five times per week experienced lower blood pressure within three months.
The results were “comparable to reductions seen with some first-line medications,” they wrote in their report published by the American College of Cardiology.
High blood pressure, if left untreated, can lead to heart attack and stroke. Now, researchers have shed new light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure. (andreswd/Getty Images)
Baduanjin also showed “comparable results and safety profile to brisk walking at one year,” the researchers further reported.
“Given its simplicity, safety and ease at which one can maintain long-term adherence, baduanjin can be implemented as an effective, accessible and scalable lifestyle intervention for individuals trying to reduce their [blood pressure],” said the senior author of the study, Jing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Matthew Saybolt, medical director of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Structural Heart Disease Program, said he was surprised by an aspect of the study’s results.
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“I was biased and expected that higher intensity exercise like brisk walking would have resulted in greater improvement in blood pressure than baduanjin, but the effects were the same,” Saybolt told Digital. (He was not affiliated with the study.)
Dr. Antony Chu, clinical assistant professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, was born and raised in the U.S. to immigrant parents — his mother is from Hong Kong and his father is from Taiwan.
Practitioners of baduanjin, such as those in this class, incorporate slow movements with mindful breathing. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
Having spent a lot of summers in Asia, Chu told he experienced “the best of both worlds” concerning Eastern and Western medicine, including exposure to the benefits of baduanjin.
“[These researchers] are taking a lot of things that have been commonplace for many, many centuries or millennia and then just applying mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to sort of give [them] some credibility,” Chu said.
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“Western medicine is reactionary,” Chu also said.
He compared the philosophies to a house on fire: Eastern medicine practitioners are more invested in preventing the fire, whereas Western medicine is more focused on “all those things that it would need to do to try to put that fire out,” he said, sharing his opinion.
A new study shows how people with high blood pressure can reduce it without medicine. (FG Trade/Getty Images)
Left untreated, high blood pressure has dangers that are “too numerous to count,” Saybolt said. The risks include increased risks of stroke, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure.
Baduanjin, Chu said, is effective at reducing blood pressure, which he likened to “the water pressure and the pipes of your house,” by calming the nervous system and reducing stress.
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“People are totally stressed out,” Chu said. “And stress reduction is huge.”
Saybolt said the study offers hope for people with hypertension — “and that hope doesn’t immediately have to include pharmaceuticals.”
Baduanjin is easily incorporated into most lifestyles and can be done without equipment almost anywhere and at any time. (Getty Images)
Saybolt added that he’s always advocated for lifestyle modifications, including healthy diet and exercise, “as key therapies for treatment of diseases and to improve longevity.”
With the baduanjin data, Saybold said he is now “more optimistic than ever,” as “we have evidence that a very low impact exercise with mindfulness can yield a benefit.”
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Chu said that translating overwhelming medical guidelines is a big part of his job.
“It’s not to just tell somebody, ‘Hey, your blood pressure’s too high, pick a pill,” he said.
Baduanjin has been a preventative health practice the Chinese have been incorporating into their routines for centuries. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
“Lifestyle changes” can be daunting for many people, he added.
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“They always make it sound like you have to live for seven years in Tibet on a mountain somewhere, and it’s really not that.”
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His simple translation for the baduanjin study is this: “Close the door in your office and just say, ‘I can’t be bothered for 10 minutes,’ and just focus on breathing slowly and moving your arms or legs around.”
