BALANCE DISORDERS and Tai Chi & qigong

BALANCE DISORDERS and TAI CHI!

T'ai Chi practitioners fall only half as much as those practicing other balance training,
as reported by an Emory University study, and others.
EMORY REPORT "Tai Chi Training May Reduce Falls in the Elderly"



Try tai chi to improve balance, avoid falls
Posted August 23, 2012
Stephanie Watson, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch

Compared to the pumping intensity of spin or Zumba, a tai chi class looks like it's being performed in slow motion. Watching the gentle, graceful movements of this ancient Chinese practice, it's hard to imagine that tai chi can burn off a single calorie or strengthen muscles. But this exercise program is far more dynamic than it looks.

"The slowness that you see from the outside can be deceptive," says Dr. Peter Wayne, research director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Read entire article at:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/try-tai-chi-to-improve-balance-avoid-falls-201208235198





Tai Chi May Help Seniors Avoid Falls

Fitness, Flexibility, Balance, and Confidence Improved in 12-Week Study

June 28, 2005 -- Tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, may improve senior citizens' strength and help them avoid falls, South Korean researchers find.

. . . The researchers tested tai chi in older adults. The slow, gentle, and continuous movements help them develop stronger muscles, better balance control, concentration, and psychological well-being.

More on this research and balance . . .
They found benefits including:

· Stronger knees and ankles

· Better balance and flexibility

· Improved walking

· More confidence in the ability to avoid falls

The tai chi students had fewer falls than others who didn't take the class.

. . . Their study appears in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.



About Tai Chi

Tai chi uses slow, fluid body movements. It's not a jarring form of exercise.

Tai chi has gotten attention from scientists for nearly a decade. The first two tai chi studies funded by the National Institute of Aging were published in 1996.

Those studies found many of the same benefits as seen in the new South Korean study.

. . . Falls in Seniors

Every year, about 30% of people aged 65 and older -- and living on their own -- fall. Falls are more common in long-term care facilities, where 40%-50% of residents fall in any given year. Some of the risk factors that lead to falls in seniors include imbalance, muscle weakness, and lack of flexibility -- all of which are modifiable, they write.

. . . Strength, Flexibility, Balance

The 12-week program was finished by 29 tai chi students and 30 people in the comparison group.

The tai chi students had stronger knees and ankles than their peers. They also improved in flexibility and walking.

SOURCES: Choi, J. Journal of Nursing, July 2005 vol 51: pp 150-157. News release, National Institute on Aging. News release, Journal of Advanced Nursing.





Institute of Chicago indicates that people with moderate balance problems can be helped by practicing T'ai Chi. Participants...of the 2 month course ...experienced about a 10 percent improvement in balance. An Emory University study supports Hain's findings. Prevention Magazine V. 46 Dec. 94 p. 71-72








Harvard Health Publications
Falls Prevention. An Emory University study found that 48 weeks of Tai Chi reduced the fear of falling significantly compared to a wellness education program. An earlier study reported a significatnly greater reduction in fear of falling following Tai Chi compared to computerized balance training: improvements in fear of falling were correlated with a nearly 50 percent reduction in the fall rate. Another trial reported that the combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) plus Tai Chi improved fear of falling, as well as measures of mobility, social support satisfaction, and quality of life, more than CBT alone.
Read more at Harvard Health Publications ...

Harvard Health Publications
Proprioception (Ability to sense the position and location and orientation and movement of the body and its parts). One study compared long-term Tai Chi practitioners to age-matched swimmers, runners, and sedentary controls. The Tai Chi practitioners had a better sense of the position of their ankle and knee joints in space, and were more sensitive to small movements of their joints. So, Tai Chi may give you more accurate, quicker feedback for balance and posture, which could help prevent falling. (Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi. Page 118.)
Read more at Harvard Health Publications ...

 


FIND MUCH MORE RESEARCH AT THE "QIGONG INSTITUTE DATABASE"
Since 1984, collecting breaking medical/science research on Qigong, Tai Chi, Yoga, and Mind-Body Education
Click here  for Qigong Institute Database...




* NOTE: World Tai Chi & Qigong Day advises consulting your physician before beginning any new exercise, herbal, diet, or health program. The research listed here is meant to stimulate a discussion between you and your physician, health insurance carrier, etc., not as medical advise. Research and comments provided here are hoped to stimulate a more robust discussion of powerful natural mind/body health tools. Popular media, health media, and government must increase attention to stunning emerging research, including the UCLA study indicating Tai Chi participants enjoyed a 50% increase in immune system resistance to viral infection.

To learn more about tai chi & qigong medical research, see the below book,
"the complete idiot's guide to tai chi & qigong,", and also
"Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi," and
"The way of qigong: the art and science of chinese energy healing."