T’ai Chi improves balance, lowers fall risk in PD patients
The AP (2/9, Nano) reports, "The ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi improved balance and lowered the risk of falls in a study of people with Parkinson's disease (PD)." In the study, which is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, "195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's" went to "twice-weekly group classes of either tai chi or two other kinds of exercise -- stretching and resistance training." Investigators found that "after six months of classes, the tai chi group did significantly better than the stretching group in tests of balance, control, walking and other measures." The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Bloomberg News (2/9, Ostrow) reports, "Those in the tai chi group improved in how far they could shift their center of gravity without falling by 15 percent over the course of the study, while those in the resistance group improved six percent. Those who were in the stretching group had a four percent decline over the study period," according to researchers.
Reuters (2/9, Emery) explains that three months after the end of the courses, those in the tai chi group had 60% and 69% fewer falls than patients in the resistance group and the stretching group, respectively. However, the leaning and shifting gravity score of those in the tai chi group decreased slightly.
"Like resistance training, tai chi helped people walk more swiftly, get up from a chair more quickly, and increased leg strength," WebMD (2/9, Goodman) points out. "It's not clear exactly why tai chi may offer an edge over more conventional kinds of exercise like resistance training, but researchers say they believe it probably has something to do with the mind-body connection that's encouraged throughout the poses." See also The Oregonian (2/9, Rojas-Burke) and HealthDay (2/9, Doheny).
Bloomberg News (2/9, Ostrow) reports, "Those in the tai chi group improved in how far they could shift their center of gravity without falling by 15 percent over the course of the study, while those in the resistance group improved six percent. Those who were in the stretching group had a four percent decline over the study period," according to researchers.
Reuters (2/9, Emery) explains that three months after the end of the courses, those in the tai chi group had 60% and 69% fewer falls than patients in the resistance group and the stretching group, respectively. However, the leaning and shifting gravity score of those in the tai chi group decreased slightly.
"Like resistance training, tai chi helped people walk more swiftly, get up from a chair more quickly, and increased leg strength," WebMD (2/9, Goodman) points out. "It's not clear exactly why tai chi may offer an edge over more conventional kinds of exercise like resistance training, but researchers say they believe it probably has something to do with the mind-body connection that's encouraged throughout the poses." See also The Oregonian (2/9, Rojas-Burke) and HealthDay (2/9, Doheny).
