Clinical Ai Chi as exercise modality in Complete Decongestive Therapy
We – Johan Lambeck and Anne Bommer – recently taught the Clinical Ai Chi module for the 11th edition of the course “Especialista en Hidroterapia” at the Universidad Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo, Spain. Because of Covid-19 we had to do that online from our house.
With Microsoft-Teams and the translation by Juan Luis Abeledo (terapiacuatica.es) we taught 5 sessions of 3 hours, both in theory and in practice. We would like to share a particular topic from the many specific clinical applications: the use of Clinical Ai Chi for the reduction of breast-cancer related lymphedema.
At first: video’s of regular Ai Chi in which Jun Konno and Mayumi Yano are presenting can be seen at http://www.aichi.it/video.html and https://vimeo.com/72877365
In the 2016 International Congress on Evidence Based Aquatic Therapy (ICEBAT) in Querétaro, Mexico an adaptation of Clinical Ai Chi was shown, based on important themes in existing literature about Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT). This was done together with Paula Geigle from Baltimore, USA; one of the authors listed underneath. We composed a PowerPoint (as pdf, in which we explained the background of Clinical Ai Chi in the exercise part of CDT).
We added 2 video’s in which 2 suggested sequences are proposed. In both video’s we show the first 5 kata’s. One video shows mainly movements that include expansion of the trunk and shoulder girdle (click here), the othervideo focuses on a proximo-distal sequence (click here)
A few references are listed here:.
- Ambroza C, Richley Geigle P. Aquatic exercise as a management tool for breast-cancer related lymphedema. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 2010;26(2):120-127 https://cdn.website.thryv.com/f6231140dee0466dbcd61b6138c7f98c/files/uploaded/5.managemetn.pdf
- Deacon R, Noronha de M, Shanley L, Young K. Does the speed of aquatic therapy exercise alter arm volume in women with breast cancer related lymphoedema? A cross-over randomized controlled trial. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 2019;23(2):140-147 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329022037_Does_the_speed_of_aquatic_therapy_exercise_alter_arm_volume_in_women_with_breast_cancer_related_lymphoedema_A_cross-over_randomized_controlled_trial
- Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J et al. Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Consensus Statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Nov;51(11):2375-2390. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002116.
- Lee C, Huang Y, Wang C et al. Possible Applications for Fascial Anatomy and Fasciaology in Traditional Chinese Medicine. J Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, 2010;3(2):125-132 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2005-2901(10)60023-4
- Withers RT, Hamdorf PH. Effect of immersion on lung capacities and volumes: implications for the densiometric estimation of relative body fat. J of Sports Sciences 1989;7:21-30
- Löllgen H, Nieding v G, Horres R. Respiratory adjustmet during head out water immersion. Int J Sports Medicine 1980;1:25-29
- Yamashima Y, Yokoyama H, Naghavi N et al. Forced expiration during the deeper water immersion causes the greater inspiratory muscle fatigue in healthy young men. J Phys Ther Sci 2016;28:412-418
* The relation between the triple warmer and the lymphatic system / interstitium is explained in the book by Matsumoto K & Birch S. https://kupdf.net/download/hara-diagnosis-reflection-in-the-sea-2_5af4a412e2b6f57508860b87_pdf
