Tai Chi and Arthritis, Strength and Balance

More than three hundred patients recruited from  North Carolina and New Jersey were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group received an eight-week, twice-weekly Tai Chi course immediately while the other group was a delayed control group (they started eight weeks later).  At the end of eight weeks the individuals who had received the early course showed moderate improvements in pain, fatigue and stiffness. They also had an increased sense of well being, as measured by the psychosocial variables, and they had improved reach or balance as measured by timed chair stands, gait speed and two measures of balance: a single leg stance and a reach test.

"Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi course for individuals with all types of arthritis, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis," said Leigh Callahan, Ph.D., the study’s lead author, associate professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a member of UNC’s Thurston Arthritis Research Center.

This is mostly plagiarized from ScienceDaily.com, who bring you further studies of backing evidence (below), and should be at least glanced at every day.

Tai Chi Benefits For Arthritis Shown (June 17, 2009)

Tai Chi Improves Pain In Arthritis Sufferers (June 2, 2009)

Tai Chi Exercise Reduces Knee Osteoarthritis Pain In The Elderly, Research Shows (Nov. 1, 2009)

Stroke Survivors Improve Balance With Tai Chi (Mar. 24, 2009)

Tai Chi Program Helps Prevent Falls Among Older Adults (Aug. 13, 2008)

 

“’Data’ is more than the plural of ‘anecdote’.” —Anonymous, Greek philosopher (date uncertain).