Qigong for Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 Infection

January 9, 2026 updated by: Michelle Dossett, University of California, Davis
The purpose of this study is to conduct a pilot feasibility study of a combination of external and internal qigong on health-related quality of life in individuals with prolonged symptoms following COVID-19 infection.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a combination of external and internal qigong, a traditional Chinese medicine healing practice, improves quality of life and symptoms for individuals with prolonged symptoms following a COVID-19 infection (sometimes called "long COVID"). The study involves completing questionnaires and participating in 6 weekly in person small group qigong sessions with an experienced qigong practitioner.

Participants will be randomized to participate in either an immediate or waitlist control group that will receive the qigong sessions starting 8 weeks later. Participants will complete 3 sets of questionnaires, each about 8 weeks apart and an interview about their experiences with qigong after completing the 6 sessions.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95817
        • University of California Davis Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. English-speaking adults age 18 or greater
  2. History of a COVID-19 infection with lingering symptoms lasting longer than 12 weeks
  3. Willing and able to access the internet to complete questionnaires
  4. Willing and able to travel to the qigong sessions to participate in person in Sacramento, CA.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Lung scarring secondary to COVID-19 infection as evidenced by signs of parenchymal lung damage on imaging or FVC < 80% (any patient with post COVID-related shortness of breath must have PFTs to be considered for enrollment).
  2. Dementia
  3. Any other condition that makes it difficult for the individual to complete questionnaires or attend the qigong sessions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Immediate
Receives 6 sessions of qigong first.
Behavioral: Qigong
6 sessions of combined external and internal qigong delivered in a group-based format once a week.
Other: Waitlist Control
Receives 6 sessions of qigong after the immediate group
Behavioral: Qigong
6 sessions of combined external and internal qigong delivered in a group-based format once a week.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in physical and mental health
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Changes in PROMIS-29 summary scores from before to after intervention in all participants
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Davis

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 4, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

May 15, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 4, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

January 9, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 9, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1846783

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Must submit written request and complete data sharing agreement.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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