Symptoms including pain, stiffness, breathing disabilities and sitting time were also improved in those with osteoarthritis and COPD.
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The mesmerizing image of groups of people taking part in the synchronized, flowing movements of Tai Chi is surely a familiar one from movies, if not your local park in summer, and has become increasingly popular in Western cultures, too.
People with chronic conditions sometimes find it hard to exercise, thus missing out on the health benefits of physical activity. Tai chi encompasses meditation, relaxation and breath control.
Patients with osteoarthritis were found to benefit the most from tai chi, reporting the highest increase in physical ability.
“Tai Chi can improve some physical performance outcomes in four chronic conditions…but not at the expense of worsening pain or dyspnoea [breathlessness]”, the study authors say, adding it “may provide a suitable exercise stimulus for people with several comorbidities”, and furthermore could be used as a modern therapy method in some long term conditions. Practicing tai chi did not have much if any effect on depression.
The average age of participants ranged from the mid 50s to the early 70s, while the average length of the Tai Chi training programme was 12 weeks, with most sessions lasting an hour. The study involved 65 elderly subjects from Hong Kong, 29 recruited from local Tai Chi clubs who had each practiced the technique for at least 90 minutes a week for three years, and 36 controls with no such experience.
The findings were published online in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. But there was only a trend toward improvement in muscle strength for people with osteoarthritis who did tai chi, the study found.
Improvements from tai chi were seen in physical capacity and muscle strength in all four conditions. She reviewed the study and said, “The great thing about tai chi is that it is a gentle form of movement that is appropriate for many people suffering from medical conditions that preclude other, more rigorous forms of exercise”.
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Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, also reviewed the study.
