RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Effects of traditional qigong exercise on ankylosing spondylitis: a protocol for systematic reviews and meta-analysis JF BMJ Open JO BMJ Open FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group SP e046188 DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046188 VO 11 IS 4 A1 Liu, Wei A1 Fan, Yihua A1 Wan, Renhong A1 Zhao, Longmei A1 Lu, Hang A1 Liao, Rongjun A1 Zhuang, Zhining A1 Guo, Xiaoping YR 2021 UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/4/e046188.abstract AB Introduction Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a recurrent autoimmune disease that is associated with a high disability rate, which has a profound negative impact on daily life. It has been clinically reported that traditional qigong exercise has certain therapeutic advantages in treating AS; however, this postulation is not evidence-based. Therefore, this study will aim at systematically appraising the validity and safety of traditional qigong exercise in treating AS.Methods and analysis We searched the English (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library) and Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang, VIP and Chinese biomedical database) for relevant information. Additionally, the Baidu Academic and Google Academic databases were manually searched to mine relevant information. Randomised controlled clinical trials of traditional qigong exercise in treating AS were searched from the establishment of the database to September 2020. Quality articles were extracted and independently evaluated by two researchers before inclusion in this study. Meta-analysis of the included articles was performed using the RevMan V.5.3 software.Ethics and dissemination This study will not involve primary data collection, and formal ethics approval will, therefore, not be required. We aim to publish this systematic review in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration number CRD42020207057.