Study: Tai Chi and Qigong Show Some Beneficial Health Effects

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi and Qigong Show Some Beneficial Health Effects
A review of scientific literature suggests that there is strong evidence of beneficial health effects of tai chi and qi gong, including for bone health, cardiopulmonary fitness, balance, and quality of life. Researchers from the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (Santa Barbara, California), Arizona State University, and the University of North Carolina analyzed 77 articles reporting the results of 66 randomized controlled trials of tai chi and qi gong. The studies involved a total of 6,410 participants. Of ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi on Psychological Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi on Psychological Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
We know that physical activity and exercise are supposed to improve psychological health. However, the question has been what if any, effect Tai Chi has on stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance in eastern and western populations. Eight English and 3 Chinese databases were used to collate forty studies totalling 3817 subjects that met the criteria of having at least 1 reportable psychological health outcome. Approximately 29 psychological measurements were assessed revealing that Tai Chi significantly increased psychological well-being including ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi Relieves Arthritis Pain, Improves Reach, Balance, Well-Being

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi Relieves Arthritis Pain, Improves Reach, Balance, Well-Being
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In the largest study to date of the Arthritis Foundation's Tai Chi program, participants showed improvement in pain, fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being. Their ability to reach while maintaining balance also improved, said Leigh Callahan, PhD, 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. "Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi Reduces Pain and Improves Physical Function for People with Knee OA

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi Reduces Pain and Improves Physical Function for People with Knee OA
Osteoarthritis (OA) refers to a clinical syndrome of joint pain accompanied by varying degrees of functional disability and impaired quality of life. The prevalence increases with age, and OA is one of the leading causes of pain and disability for the adult population worldwide (NICE 2008). Tai Chi is a form of exercise that focuses on controlled movements combined with diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation while maintaining good posture (Hall et al 2009). This randomised controlled trial included modified Yang-style Tai ...  read more

Tai Chi May Help Parkinson’s Sufferers to Increase Balance and Stability

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Tai Chi May Help Parkinson’s Sufferers to Increase Balance and Stability
People with Parkinson's disease usually have substantially impaired balance, leading to diminished functional ability and an increased risk of falling. Although exercise is routinely encouraged by health care providers, few programs have been proven effective. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted by the Oregon Research Institute, with funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to determine whether a tailored Tai Chi program could improve postural control in sufferers of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. All trial participants undertook 60-minute ...  read more

Tai Chi Increases Brain Size, Benefits Cognition in Randomized Controlled Trial of Chinese Elderly

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Tai Chi Increases Brain Size, Benefits Cognition in Randomized Controlled Trial of Chinese Elderly
Scientists from the University of South Florida and Fudan University in Shanghai found increases in brain volume and improvements on tests of memory and thinking in Chinese seniors who practiced Tai Chi three times a week, reports an article published June 19 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The findings were based on an 8-month randomized control trial comparing those who practiced Tai Chi to a group who did not. The trial also showed increases in brain volume and cognitive ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi Seen to Boost Immune System Response in Older Adults

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi Seen to Boost Immune System Response in Older Adults
A study was carried out in 2007 to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi on resting and vaccine-stimulated levels of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to varicella zoster virus (VZV), and on health functioning in older adults. The trial was conducted over 25 weeks, and at week 16 participants were vaccinated with VARIVAX, the live attenuated Oka/Merck VZV vaccine licensed to prevent varicella. The Tai Chi group showed higher levels of VZV-CMI than the health education control group, with a significant rate ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi May Benefit People with Heart Failure

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi May Benefit People with Heart Failure
Tai chi exercise may improve quality of life, mood, and exercise self-efficacy (belief in one’s own abilities) in people with chronic heart failure, according to a 2011 study funded in part by NCCAM. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated exercise capacity, quality of life, physical activity, and mood in 100 people with chronic heart failure. The researchers found that the participants in the tai chi group had ...  read more

Study: Tai Chi Exercises Improve Type 2 Diabetes Control

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Study: Tai Chi Exercises Improve Type 2 Diabetes Control
Regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise improves T cell helper function of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with an increase in T-bet transcription factor and IL-12 production. Tai Chi exercises can improve the control of type 2 diabetes, suggests a small study. The research team assessed the impact of a 12 week programme of Tai Chi exercises on the T helper cell activity of 30 patients with type 2 diabetes and 30 healthy people of the same age. T cells ...  read more

Senior Australians Could Definitely Benefit from Activities such as Tai Chi

Tara Brayshaw - Friday, June 03, 2016
Senior Australians Could Definitely Benefit from Activities such as Tai Chi
A study recently published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that almost one-third of Australians aged over 65 engage in no leisure time physical activity at all. Furthermore, the researchers found that while a lot of Seniors engage in walking and similar aerobic activities, which are beneficial to heart health, very few (less than 3%) were doing enough to improve strength, coordination and balance. The big issue is to find out why. Lead author of the ...  read more

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