Studies are showing that practicing Tai Chi can facilitate an individual’s ability to increase physical stamina, reduce stress, enhance feelings of wellbeing, and improve resistance to illness. In this workshop, the principles and practice of a short form of Yang-style Tai Chi is presented for participants to experience and discuss the use of this evidence-based modality in a variety of healthc...

QUESTION Does Tai Chi improve postural control in patients with Parkinson's disease? DESIGN Randomised, controlled trial and blinded outcome assessment. SETTING University clinic in USA. PARTICIPANTS Individuals with Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stage 1-4) between the age of 40 and 85 years, and ability to walk with or without an assistive device were key inclusion criteria. Mini-M...

Background. Chronic low back pain (CLBP) among nurses is a growing health concern. The multimodal nature of mind-body exercises has potential to impact physiological and psychological processes associated with chronic pain, affording possible advantages over conventional unimodal therapies. This paper summarizes the prevalence of and risk factors for CLBP among nurses, reviews the effectiveness...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine whether Tai Chi practice can reduce the inconsistency of arm movement force output in older adults. METHODS Twenty seniors took part in the 8-week-long exercise intervention program (12 in Tai Chi practice, M = 79.3 years, SD = 2.4; and 8 in a locomotor activity group, walking or jogging, M = 79.5 years, SD = 1.9). Linear and curvilinear man...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Tai Chi on waist circumference and blood pressure in the elderly. The present study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. [Subjects and Methods] Sixty-eight elderly individuals residing in J city were divided into 2 groups: 34 in the experimental group, who received Tai Chi training for 6 weeks, and 34 i...

The rationale of this article is to review, analyze, and discuss studies concerning the role of Tai Chi in stress management and well-being, linking those studies to research on exercise, yoga, and relaxation with regard to physiological and psychological wellness. All studies reported in PsychLit and Medline between 1996 and 1999 directly related to the subject, plus other studies relevant for...

One of the challenges faced by people with advancing age is decreased postural stability and increased risks for falls. There has been an increased interest over the last decade in using Tai Chi as an intervention exercise for improving postural balance and preventing falls in older people. Despite the increased number of studies in recent years relating Tai Chi to balance and fall prevention, ...

BACKGROUND Whether Tai Chi benefits patients with osteoarthritis remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercise for pain, stiffness, and physical function in patients with osteoarthritis. METHODS A computerized search of PubMed and Embase (up to Sept 2012) was performed to identify relevant studies. The outcome measures were pain, stiffness...

Question: What is the effect of Tai Chi for people with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee? Design: Randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, blinded outcome assessment and intention-to-treat analysis. Setting: An urban tertiary academic hospital in the USA. Participants: Men and women > 55 years, with body mass index < 40 kg/m2, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthrit...

BACKGROUND Tai Chi is the Chinese traditional medicine exercise for mind-body health. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) exercise on the proliferative and cytolytic/tumoricidal activities of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in postsurgical non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. METHODS Patients (n = 27) were randomly divided into th...