Question :
Is the intensity of Tai Chi exercise sufficient to increase aerobic capacity?
Answer :
Tai Chi may increase aerobic capacity in subjects who were initially sedentary. However, randomized clinical trials have not shown that Tai Chi is an effective way to increase aerobic capacity.
Summaries:
1. This is a review of 170 citations.
Tai Chi improved aerobic capacity mostly in middle-aged adults (over 55 years old) who were initially sedentary and when it was practiced long term.
2. This review included 5 randomized clinical trials.
Three studies compared Tai Chi with sedentary controls and two studies compared Tai Chi with varying intensities of aerobic exercise. Tai Chi did not increase maximal oxygen consumption in these studies.
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Medical Research
Aerobic capacity
Question :
Can Tai Chi improve mobility, physical function, and the quality of life of adult diabetics?
Answer :
Walking speed and balance (static and dynamic) improved significantly in both the Tai Chi and the control group after 16 weeks. There was no improvement in muscle function, endurance capacity, cognition, or other measures of quality of life.
Summary :
Thirty-eight older adults (?50 years of age) with stable type 2 diabetes were randomized to Tai Chi or to sham exercise (calisthenics and gentle stretching). A modified 12 movement form of Tai Chi (‘Tai Chi for Diabetes’ by Dr. Lam) was performed for 1 hour, twice a week, for 16 weeks.
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Medical Research
Balance, Diabetes
Question :
What are the physiological effects of tai chi, including its effect on aerobic exercise capacity?
Answer :
Tai Chi can be classified as a moderate intensity exercise with a maximal oxygen intake (VO2 max) of 55%.
Summary :
A review of 31 studies with a total of 2216 men and women.
The authors conclude that Tai Chi is beneficial to cardiorespiratory function, immune capacity, mental control, flexibility, balance control, muscle strength and reduces the risk of falls in the elderly.
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Medical Research
Aerobic capacity, Balance, Flexibility, Immunity, Mental health, Muscle strength
Question :
Can Tai Chi exercise lower blood pressure?
Answer :
Yes. Most studies showed a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Summary :
This review included 9 randomized controlled trials, 13 nonrandomized studies and 4 observational studies. Studies that only looked at the short term effects of exercise were excluded. Blood pressure reduction with Tai Chi was seen in 22 studies. Systolic blood pressure was reduced from 3-32 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure was reduced from 2-18 mm Hg.
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Medical Research
Blood pressure, Hypertension
Question :
Can tai chi improve the quality of sleep?
Answer :
Improvement was seen in the sleep parameters of sleep quality, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep duration and sleep disturbance.
Summary :
112 healthy adult volunteers were randomly allocated to either Tai Chi Chih or to health education. Participants were 59 to 86 years old. Tai Chi was practiced for 40 minutes, 3 times a weeks, for 16 weeks. Tai Chi Chih is a set of 19 movements and 1 pose.
Sleep quality was assessed after 25 weeks. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
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Medical Research
Sleep
Question :
Does Tai Chi help patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions such as arthritis? Can Tai Chi decrease pain and disability and improve quality of life and physical function?
Answer :
The authors conclude that Tai Chi has a small positive effect on pain and disability in people with arthritis. It also improved satisfaction with general health.
Summary :
This meta-analysis included seven randomized controlled trials with a total of 321 participants with musculoskeletal pain; six studies on patients with chronic arthritis and one study on patients with chronic tension headaches.
The studies were rated of low quality.
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Medical Research
Arthritis, Headache, Pain
Question :
Does tai chi exercise improve muscular strength?
Answer :
12 weeks of tai chi training improved ankle plantar flexion strength by close to 20%.
Summary :
Plantar flexion is the downward movement at the ankle joint as in pressing down on an automobile gas pedal.
In this study, Yang style tai chi was performed 1 hour per session, 3 times per week, for 12 weeks. There were twenty subjects, 14 in the training group and 6 in the control group. Maximal isometric plantarflexion muscle strength was measured at the soleus muscle.
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Medical Research
Muscle strength
Question :
Can tai chi exercise give your immune system a boost?
Answer :
In this study, tai chi exercise increased an immunological marker for shingles immunity by nearly 50%.
Summary :
The varicella-zoster virus causes chicken pox and shingles (herpes zoster). The virus remains dormant in the nervous system after a chickenpox infection and can be reactivated years latter as shingles. Shingles is a painful rash with blisters on the skin. Post herpectic neuralgia is a complication of shingles.
36 health adults over 60 years of age were randomly allocated either to the tai chi group or to a waiting-list control group. Tai Chi Chih (a set of 19 movements and 1 pose) was performed for 45 minutes, 3 times a week, for 15 weeks. Immunity to the varicella-zoster virus (VZV-responder cell frequency) was measured at the start of the study and after 16 weeks.
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Medical Research
Immunity, Shingles
Question :
Can Tai Chi improve proprioception at the ankle and knee joints and help with balance control in the elderly?
Answer :
Elderly people who practiced Tai Chi regularly had better proprioception at the ankle and knee joints compared to sedentary controls. They also had better proprioception at the ankle joint compared to swimmers and runners. Better proprioception may be helpful in maintaining balance control in the elderly.
Summary :
Ankle and knee joint kinaesthesis was measured in 21 elderly long term Tai Chi practitioners, 20 elderly long term swimmers/runners and 27 elderly sedentary controls. The Tai Chi group had an average age of 66.1 years and practiced Tai Chi for approximately 1.5 hours a day.
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Medical Research
Balance, Proprioception
Question :
Can Tai Chi as an exercise prevent osteoporosis compared to high impact exercise?
Answer :
Tai Chi is superior compared to a sedentary lifestyle but it is not the most effective exercise to prevent osteoporosis.
Summary :
1. This is a review article that included 5 randomized clinical trials and 2 controlled clinical trials.
Although one randomized clinical trial found Tai Chi superior for the loss of bone mineral density compared to a sedentary lifestyle, the meta-analysis showed that Tai Chi did not have a significant effect on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
2. There is an inverse relationship between physical activity and the risk of hip fracture. Exercises such as Tai Chi may be less effective in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures.
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Medical Research
Osteoporosis
