Tai Chi Research » Parkinson’s Disease

Case report observes improved balance in patients with mild Parkinson’s Disease.

David Bendall — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:32:19 +0000

Researchers at Youngstown State University in Ohio did a case study to describe the effects of an eight-week Tai Chi class on two patients, one with Parkinson’s disease and the other with multiple system atrophy. They found that both patients demonstrated improvements in balance and functional reach.

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A Critical Review of the Effectiveness of Tai Chi for Parkinson’s

David Bendall — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:24:22 +0000

A literature search of studies of tai chi for Parkinson’s found a total of seven studies that met the researchers inclusion criteria through the end of January 2008. One randomized clinical trial (RCT) found tai chi to be superior to conventional exercise in terms of the UPDRS (the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale) and prevention of falls. Another RCT study failed to find a difference between tai chi and qigong on locomoter ability. A third study failed to show effects of tai chi on the UPDRS or a PD questionnaire compared to a wait list control. The remaining for studies were either non-randomized or non-controlled. The researchers noted that most investigations suffer from methodological flaws such as inadequate study design, poor reporting of results, small sample size and publication without the appropriate peer review process. The researchers conclude that further research is required demonstrate whether there are specific benefits of tai chi for people with Parkinson’s disease such as reducing the frequency of falls and improving balance.

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Tai chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease.

David Bendall — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:13:23 +0000

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri did a pilot study to examine the effects of tai chi on balance, gait and mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease. 33 individuals with Parkinson’s disease were randomly assigned to 20 hour long tai chi classes over a 10-13 week period while the control group received not tai chi classes. The tai chi group improved more then the control group in balance, the UPDRS, timed up-and-go, a tandem stance test, six-minute walk and on backward walking. Neither group improved on a forward walking or one leg stance test. All participants in the tai chi group reported satisfaction with the program and improvements in well-being.

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Individuals with Parkinson’s disease show improvements in physical-performance after tai chi-based exercise program.

David Bendall — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:26:59 +0000

Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene evaluated a tai chi based exercise pilot-program for older adults with Parkinson’s disease. 17 individuals, average age 72 with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease were evaluated before and after a 5-day, 90 minute per day tai chi exercise program. Adherence was 100% and the program was shown to be safe. Exit interviews indicated that the participants enjoyed the program and planned to continue. There were significant pretest-to-posttest changes (p < 0.05) in all three measures of physical-performance tested, 50-ft speed walk, up-and-go and functional reach.

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Participants report improvements in Tai Chi for Parkinson’s buddy pilot program.

David Bendall — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:45:54 +0000

Researchers at D’Youville College in Buffalo conducted a randomized pilot study of a tai chi buddy program where 8 individuals with Parkinson’s disease and 7 support partners without Parkinson’s disease. All participants received a 45-minute per week session of tai chi for 12 weeks. The program was evaluated based on a participant survey, group discussion, instructor reflections and a review of attendance records. The participants reported benefits in the physical, psychological and social domains. 13 out of the 15 participants, including 6 out of the 8 with PD reported a physical benefit due to practicing tai chi with improvements to balance being most frequently reported. Instructor and participant testimony suggested that movement capability might also have been improved due to the tai chi classes.

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Pilot study of qigong for Parkinson’s disease finds a significant improvement in motor symptoms.

David Bendall — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:21:22 +0000

Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany conducted a randomized pilot study, which assigned 56 patients with Parkinson’s disease to either a qigong group or a control group. The qigong group received 90 minutes per week of qigong instruction for 2 months, followed by a 2-month pause and then 2 additional months of qigong instruction. Progression of motor symptoms as was assessed by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale motor part at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Significantly more patients improved in the qigong group than in the control group at months 3 and 6. There was a sustained difference between groups at 12 months when compared to baseline. In addition, the incidence of several non-motor symptoms decreased in the qigong group only.

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Case report observes improved balance in patients with mild Parkinson’s.

David Bendall — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:43:33 +0000

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Researchers at the University of Florida find that Tai Chi helps people with Parkinson’s Disease

David Bendall — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:21:12 +0000

Lyvonne Carreiro and colleagues at the University of Florida in Jacksonville, Florida randomly assigned 30 individuals with Parkinson’s disease to a one-hour weekly tai chi class for 12 weeks. The researchers found that individuals in the tai chi group were less likely than those in the control group to have a fall, an increase in the severity of their condition or a decrease in motor function.

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