# Tai chi and qigong

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/tai-chi-qigong/  
OnCo record `tai-chi-qigong` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Slow, low-impact movement practices from Chinese tradition improve fatigue, sleep and balance in people with cancer. Randomised trials are moderately sized and positive, and the 2024 fatigue guideline recommends them during treatment.

## Summary

Tai chi and qigong combine slow choreographed movement, weight shifting and breath control. Randomised trials in breast, lung and prostate cancer report reductions in fatigue and improvements in sleep, balance and quality of life. In a randomised trial of 90 breast cancer survivors with insomnia (Irwin et al., JCO 2017), tai chi chih was non-inferior to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia at 15 months. The 2024 SIO-ASCO fatigue guideline recommends tai chi or qigong for fatigue during treatment. The practices are well suited to older adults and to people with balance problems, including chemotherapy neuropathy, where fall prevention matters. As with yoga, the trials are unblinded and control conditions vary.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:moderate
- Principle: Meditative movement lowers sympathetic tone and inflammatory markers, trains proprioception and leg strength, and provides regular gentle aerobic activity.
- Strengths: Non-inferior to CBT-I for insomnia in one trial; Suitable for frail and older patients; Recommended for fatigue in SIO-ASCO 2024
- Limitations: Moderate-sized trials; Heterogeneous styles and doses; No survival or recurrence data

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi
- Tai chi chih versus CBT-I for insomnia in breast cancer survivors (JCO 2017): https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2016.71.0285
- SIO-ASCO guideline: integrative oncology care of cancer-related fatigue (JCO 2024): https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.24.00575

## Connected records

- technologies: [Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)](https://onco.cc/technologies/cbt-insomnia-cancer/), [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Exercise & lifestyle oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/exercise-oncology/), [Fatigue after cancer treatment: what actually works](https://onco.cc/technologies/cancer-related-fatigue-management/), [Geriatric assessment](https://onco.cc/technologies/geriatric-assessment/), [Sleep and circadian interventions in cancer](https://onco.cc/technologies/sleep-circadian-interventions/)
- fronts: [Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle](https://onco.cc/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/), [Recovery & Rejuvenation](https://onco.cc/fronts/rejuvenation/), [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- terms: [Peripheral neuropathy (chemotherapy-induced)](https://onco.cc/terms/peripheral-neuropathy/), [Quality of life](https://onco.cc/terms/quality-of-life/)
- bottlenecks: [Older and multimorbid patients are excluded and undertreated](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-aging-comorbidity/), [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)
- key papers: [Tai Chi Chih Compared With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Insomnia in Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Randomized, Partially Blinded, Noninferiority Trial](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-irwin-j-clin-oncol/)

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