Seniors
Tai chi improves sleep quality in older adults.
November 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles randomly assigned 118 older adults with moderate sleep complaints to 16 weeks of tai chi training or health education. Individuals assigned to the tai chi groups were more likely to achieve a treatment response than those in the health education group. Individuals in the tai chi group had significant improvements to sleep quality, efficiency, duration and disturbance. The researchers conclude that tai chi can be considered a useful nonpharmacologic approach to improve sleep quality in older adults with moderate sleep complaints. Abstract Read More →
Fall Prevention
Review of controlled trials show tai chi to be effective at reducing risk of falls among seniors.
August 31, 2009 · Leave a Comment
A systematic review of randomizes trials of interventions to reduce falls in community-dwelling seniors published in the April 2009 Cochrane Database Syst Rev. found that tai chi is effective at reducing the rate of falls. In addition to tai chi, multiple-component group exercise, individually prescribed multiple-component home-based exercise, and assessment and multifactorial intervention were also found to be effective. Of these tai chi had the greatest estimated reduction in falls. A number of other interventions were also found to be effective, however these only applied to selected... [Read the full story]
Immune System
Tai chi is found to augment the immune response to the varicella zoster virus.
March 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles studied the effects of tai chi on resting and vaccine-stimulated levels of cell-mediated immunity to the varicella zoster virus and on health functioning in older adults. 112 healthy adults over aged 59 to 86 were randomly assigned to receive 25 weeks of tai chi or health education. After 16 weeks both groups were vaccinated with the VARIVAX vaccine, which is licensed to prevent varicella, the virus that causes shingles. The tai chi group was found to have significantly higher levels of varicella cell-mediated immunity than the health... [Read the full story]
Stress
Study finds tai chi effective at reducing the impact of tension headaches.
March 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles studied examined the benefits of tai chi for individuals suffering from tension headaches. 47 individuals were randomly assigned to 15-weeks of tai chi or to a wait-list control group. The tai chi group showed significant improvements compared to the control group in headache status, pain, energy/fatigue, social functioning, emotional well-being and mental health. The researchers note that tai chi has a number of benefits compared to pharmaceutical intervention. Virtually all pharmaceutical-based interventions include some level of risk... [Read the full story]
Chronic Pain
Teaching Tai Chi for Chronic Pain
March 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment
I have been asked by a number of Energy Arts instructors who teach Tai Chi and Chi Gung (‘Qigong’) about the work we do with chronic pain patients in the National Health Service, especially relating to the uses of Tai Chi for Chronic pain. Here is a short overview… How teaching tai chi for chronic pain started It started in 1997, when the inimitable Brian Cookman marched up to the local hospital in Canterbury and declared, to anyone who would listen, that he wanted to teach Tai Chi there. He was lucky enough to find a receptive ear in Val Conway, who was the head of the Pain Clinic... [Read the full story]
Arthritis
Pilot study finds suggests tai chi benefits individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.
December 31, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston conducted a pilot study of twenty individuals with functional class I or II rheumatoid arthritis. Half of the individuals were randomly assigned to tai chi and half to an attention control group. Both groups met twice per week for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks there was a statistically significant difference in the number of individuals who achieved an American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response, with 5 of the 10 individuals assigned to the tai chi group achieving it compared to none in the control group. An ACR 20 response indicates... [Read the full story]
Fall Prevention
Review of controlled trials show tai chi to be effective at reducing risk of falls among seniors.
A systematic review of randomizes trials of interventions to reduce falls in community-dwelling seniors published in the April 2009 Cochrane Database Syst Rev. found that tai chi is effective at reducing the rate of falls. In addition to tai chi, multiple-component group exercise, individually prescribed multiple-component home-based exercise,... Read more of this article
Study fails to show 26 hours per year of tai chi enough to reduce risk of falls among seniors.
Researchers at Erasmus MS University in the Netherlands randomly assigned 269 older adults to a tai chi or control group. The tai chi group received two hours of tai chi training for 13 weeks. Falls were recorded in both groups during the 12 months following the start of the tai chi classes. There was no statistically significant difference in the... Read more of this article
Tai Chi for Falls Prevention Program Successfully Implemented
Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute demonstrated that a tai chi based falls-prevention program developed from a clinical trial could be replicated. The program was evaluated at 6 community centers. All 6 centers successfully implemented the program with an 87% reach into the target population. The participants showed significant improvements... Read more of this article
Randomized controlled trial of tai chi for the prevention of falls shows significant results.
Researchers in Sydney Australia designed a study to see if a one hour per week, sixteen week falls prevention program could significantly reduce falls among community-dwelling seniors aged 60 and older. Individuals with degenerative neurological disorders, severely debilitating strokes, cancer, or severe arthritis were excluded from the study. A total... Read more of this article
Intense tai chi training leads to a reduction in fear of falling in frail older adults.
Researchers at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in Atlanta designed a study in order to determine whether an intense tai chi exercise program could reduce fear of falling better than a wellness education program among older adults transitioning to frailty how had previously fallen. Ten matched pairs of congregate living facilities... Read more of this article
More Posts From Fall Prevention
Immune System
Tai chi is found to augment the immune response to the varicella zoster virus.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles studied the effects of...
Tai chi improves antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults.
Researchers at the University of Illinois citing previous studies that suggest that...
Regular tai chi exercise improves T cell helper function in type 2 diabetics.
Researchers in Taiwan carried out a case-control study of 30 pairs...
Functional mobility and regulatory T cell function enhanced after tai chi program.
Researchers at the Chang Gung Institute of Technology in Kaohsiung Taiwan investigated...
Regular moderate physical activity can prevent the neuroendocrine and detrimental immunological effects of stress.
Dr. Fleshner of the University of Colorado in Boulder writes in the May 2000 edition...
More Posts From Immune System
Stress
Study finds tai chi effective at reducing the impact of tension headaches.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles studied examined the benefits...
Pilot study of stress management via tai chi shows significant benefits.
Researchers at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany conducted an...
Regular moderate physical activity can prevent the neuroendocrine and detrimental immunological effects of stress.
Dr. Fleshner of the University of Colorado in Boulder writes in the May 2000 edition...
Teaching Tai Chi and Meditation in Prisons
Tai Chi is used as an outlet for prisoners to get in touch with their inner worlds...
More Posts From Stress
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