Tai Chi Medical

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 :
Can Tai Chi improve quality of life measure and reduce tension headaches?

Answer :
Tai Chi improved health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) scores and reduced headache impact after 15 weeks. There was a high dropout rate in the Tai Chi group.

Summary :
47 participants were randomly assigned to either a program of Tai Chi instruction or a wait-list control group.
The classical Yang style of Tai Chi with 24 movements was taught for an hour, twice a week, for 15 weeks. There were 8 dropouts in the intervention group. The average age of the 13 subjects in the Tai Chi group was 47 years.

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Medical Research Headache