Tai Chi Research

Tai chi improves symptoms and quality of life in patients with moderate heart failure.

David Bendall — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:30:43 +0000

A study done at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, UK investigated the effect of tai chi on exercise tolerance in patients with moderate heart failure. 52 patients were randomly assigned to 16 weeks of tai chi or standard care without exercise rehabilitation. While there were not statistically significant improvements to exercise tolerance, the study found statistically significant improvements in symptoms scores of heart failure and depression scores in the tai chi group. The researchers observed that there were no adverse exercise related problems in the tai chi group and that the training was enjoyed by all.

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Tai chi improves standing balance of people with chronic stroke.

David Bendall — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:45:07 +0000

Researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong studied the effect of tai chi on standing balance in subjects which chronic stroke. 136 individuals who had had a stroke at least 6 months prior were randomly assigned to either 12 weeks of general exercise or tai chi training. The tai chi group showed significant improvements in standing balance compared to the general exercise group after 12 weeks and 6 weeks after the end of training.

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Pilot study finds suggests tai chi benefits individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

David Bendall — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:09:15 +0000

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 that there has been a 20% improvement in a well-accepted set of signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis such as tender and swollen joints, pain, etc.

The tai chi group also had statistically significant improvements in measures of disability, vitality and depression. There were also signs of improvements in disease activity, functional capacity and health-related quality of life. The results of this study suggest that tai chi may be a safe and effective complementary treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

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Study compares the effects of tai chi and resistance exercises on bone health, muscle strength and balance among seniors.

David Bendall — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:04:55 +0000

Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong studied the effects of tai chi and resistance training on bone health, muscle strength and balance among seniors aged 65-74. 90 men and 90 women were randomly assigned to either a tai chi group, resistance training group or non-exercising control group. The tai chi and resistance training groups both exercised three times a week for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks both the tai chi and the resistance training group had a statistically significant reduction in hip bone mineral density loss among women, but not among men. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in spine bone mineral density, balance, strength, number of falls or flexibility measurements after 12 months.

While the difference in the number of falls reported was not statistically significant, there were half as many falls in the tai chi group as in the control group, (15 out of 60 vs. 31 of 60 for the control group) and about a third less falls (15/60 vs. 24/60) than in the resistance training group. While these results weren’t statistically significant they are consistent with other studies which have observed large reductions in falls among seniors who learn tai chi.

Some of the results of this study differed from the results of other studies. For instance, other studies have shown that resistance training can increase strength in the elderly however no increase in strength in the resistance training group compared to the control group was observed in this study. The authors speculate that in this cohort of individuals the tolerated levels of exercise may not have been great enough to provide observable changes. The authors also note that during the 12 month period the government launched a healthy aging campaign, and it is possible that control subjects may have modified their lifestyles accordingly. It is interesting to note that the control group as well as the tai chi and resistance training groups showed increased balance, strength and bone mineral density in the spine after 12 months.

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Pilot study compares the effect of tai chi and resistance training on bone metabolism in the elderly.

David Bendall — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:49:28 +0000

Researchers at Texas Tech in Lubbock Texas carried out a pilot study designed to compare the effects of tai chi to resistance training on bone metabolism. Twenty eight sedentary elderly adults were randomly assigned to 24 weeks of either tai chi or resistance training. Both groups participated in three 45 minute exercise sessions per week. The researchers measured markers of bone formation and bone reabsorption. After 6 weeks both groups had higher levels of serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) a biochemical marker of bone formation than at baseline, with the increase being greater in the tai chi group. The resistance training group but not the tai chi group also showed an increase in pyridinoline (PYD) which is released during bone reabsorption. The BAP/PYD ratio was increased over baseline in the tai chi group only. The tai chi group also showed a higher level of parathyroid hormone, which controls calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood, than the resistance training group. After the 12 weeks the tai chi group had a reduction in urinary calcium levels. These results suggest that tai chi is beneficial for increasing bone formation in the elderly.

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Tai chi beneficial for retarding bone loss in weight-bearing bones in postmenopausal women.

David Bendall — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:03:51 +0000

Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong randomly assigned 132 healthy early postmenopausal women to either 12 months of 45 minutes per day, 5 days per week supervised tai chi or no additional exercise. The rate of bone loss was less in the tai chi group than in the control group with the reduction especially significant in the distal tibia where there was a 2.6 to 3.6-fold retardation of bone loss. Over the course of the study, four fractures were documented, one in the tai chi group and three in the control group. The results suggest that tai chi is beneficial for retarding bone loss in postmenopausal women.

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Tai chi may retard bone loss in postmenopausal women

David Bendall — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:36:19 +0000

Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong compared bone mineral density in the spine and legs of 17 postmenopausal women who regularly practice tai chi to 17 age and gender matched controls who did not exercise. The women in the tai chi group had significantly higher bone mineral density than those in the control group. Bone mineral density in both groups was re-measured after 12 months. There was a decreased rate of bone loss in the tai chi group compared to the controls. The researchers conclude that tai chi may help retard bone loss in the weight-bearing bones of postmenopausal women.

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Tai chi benefits individuals with Ankylosing Spondylitis

David Bendall — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:25:52 +0000

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine in Daejeon, South Korea published results in the December 2008 issue of Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine of a study that found that tai chi benefits individuals with Ankylosing Spondylitis. The study randomly assigned 40 individuals to two one hour sessions of tai chi for 8 weeks, or a control group. After 8 weeks the tai chi group had significantly lower disease activity and improved flexibility than the control group. The authors noted that effect size for disease activity was greater than found in previous studies of home exercise, conventional exercise, global posture re-education and NSAIDs.

Pain related depression is a major issue for individuals with Ankylosing Spondylitis. While there were improvements in depression compared to the control group in this study, they were not statistically significant. The authors noted that previous studies of tai chi for depression with similar durations and practice time failed to achieve statistically significant decreases in depression, while a study where participants had four tai chi lessons per week for 18 week did reduce depression levels in patients with osteoarthritis, indicating that training time and duration may be related to reducing depression levels. It will probably take larger studies or studies with additional tai chi training to conclusively demonstrate that tai chi reduces depression as well as lowering disease activity in individuals with Ankylosing Spondylitis.

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Tai chi is effective in treating knee osteoarthritis

David Bendall — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:04:54 +0000

Researchers at Tuffts Medical Center in Boston MA published results in the November 2009 edition of Arthritis & Rheumatism of a study showing that tai chi is effective in treating knee osteoarthritis. The researchers randomly assigned 40 individuals with knee osteoarthritis to two hours per week of tai chi or two hours per week of wellness education and stretching for 12 weeks. At the end of the study patients who were randomly assigned to the tai chi group had significantly decreased pain and depression and significantly increased physical function, chair stand time, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life.

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Tai chi improves sleep quality in older adults.

David Bendall — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:22:24 +0000

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.

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