Purpose: A deterioration in bone strength and balance performance
after breast cancer treatment can result in injurious falls. Therefore,
interventions need to be developed to improve the bone strength and balance
ability of breast cancer survivors. This cross-sectional exploratory study aimed
to compare the bone mineral density (BMD), balance performance, balance
self-efficacy, and number of falls between breast cancer survivors who practiced
qigong, breast cancer survivors who did not practice qigong, and healthy
individuals. Methods: The study included 40 breast cancer survivors
with more than 3 months of qigong experience, 17 breast cancer survivors with no
qigong experience, and 36 healthy controls. All the participants underwent
dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans to measure their lumbar spine, total hip,
femoral neck, and total radius BMDs. The participants also underwent a timed
one-leg stand test to measure their single-leg standing balance. The
participants’ balance self-efficacy was assessed using the activities-specific
balance confidence scale, and the number of falls experienced by each
participant was assessed in a face-to-face interview. Results: The
lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck, and total radius BMDs were similar
between the 3 groups (P > .05). The breast cancer-qigong
group outperformed the breast cancer-control group by 27.3% when they performed
the one-leg stand test on a foam surface (P = .025), and they
also had a higher balance self-efficacy score (P = .006).
Nevertheless, the numbers of falls were comparable between the 3 groups
(P > .05). Conclusion: Qigong may be a
suitable exercise for improving the balance performance and balance
self-efficacy of breast cancer survivors.