Tai Chi benefits older adults' mobility, study shows
In two studies - one quantitative, one qualitative - presented... at the North American Research Conference on Complementary & Integrative Medicine, lead researcher Yang found that healthy seniors who practiced a combination of Qigong and Tai Chi three times a week for six months experienced significant physical benefits after only two months.
Not only did participants demonstrate noticeable improvements in laboratory-controlled tests designed to measure balance, lower body strength and stance width, a subset of participants who contributed responses in the qualitative study provided dramatic evidence of how Tai Chi and Qigong practice had also enhanced their lives from a mental, emotional and spiritual perspective.
For example, in assessing the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong practice on participants, the researchers used a number of standard physical-activity measurements, among them, the single leg stand, or SLS. The SLS measures the length of time an individual can stand on one leg, with eyes closed and eyes open.
"With eyes open, we saw an 83 percent improvement after two months," Yang said. "With eyes closed, we did not see results - 29 percent improvement - until the end of six months.
Numbers alone don't tell the full story of the results, however, Yang said.
"But when you see how it translates to functional performance ... how meaningful it is to their daily life - putting on jeans, taking groceries out, even the posture you have when you hold your grandchildren - the results are significant."
Also telling, he said, is the strong desire among study participants to continue practicing Tai Chi and Qigong beyond the bounds of the research.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006, June 29). Research
Reinforces Findings That Chinese Exercises Benefit Older Adults. ScienceDaily.
Older adults who adopt an exercise regimen combining Taiji and Qigong may get an extra boost from their annual flu shot.
"We have found that 20 weeks of Taiji can increase the antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults," said the study's lead author Yang Yang, an adjunct professor of kinesiology and community health, and a Taiji master with 30-plus years of experience as a practitioner and instructor.
"In this study, we found that five months of an easily performed behavioral Taiji and Qigong intervention could improve the magnitude and duration of the HI anti-influenza antibody titer response in a small cohort of older adults," write the authors, who also include Karl S. Rosengren, a U. of I. professor of psychology and of kinesiology and community health, and Jeffrey A. Woods, a kinesiology and community health professor who researches the effects of exercise on immune function. Rosengren and Woods helped design the study. Other co-authors are former U. of I. graduate students Rachel A. Mariani and Jay Verkuilen, and Scott A. Grubisich and Michael Reed of the Center for Taiji Studies, Champaign.
According to Yang, one problem with the flu vaccine is that older adults often do not reach what are considered to be "protective levels" after receiving the vaccination.
On average, he said, the Taiji group had much higher antibody responses to the vaccination than the control group, and the percentage of persons who achieved protective levels also was higher in the Taiji group.University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2007, August 14). Traditional Chinese Exercises May Increase Efficacy Of Flu Vaccine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 27, 2008
Tai Chi program adopted in Senior Community Centers in Oregon
In the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) senior scientist Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., describes how senior community centers in Lane County, Oregon successfully adopted an evidence-based Tai Chi program to prevent falls among older adults. Based on this success, the Oregon Department of Human Services, in partnership with 4 counties in Oregon, has now adopted the Tai Chi program as part of its efforts to disseminate evidence-based interventions to promote physical activity and reduce falls among community-living older adults.
New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Nassau County NY sponsor Tai Chi Day
Last Fall New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NYCTCM) and Nassau County, as part of the Healthy Nassau program, co-sponsored Tai Chi Day at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County. NYCTCM staff taught Tai Chi to about 70 participants.
In the top picture, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi participates in Tai Chi. In the 2nd picture, World Tai Chi Champion Mr. Sitan Chen instructs Tai Chi class. Here, Dr. Chen is pictured with Thomas Suozzi at Tai Chi Day.
See the rest of the pictures from Tai Chi Day at NYCTCM Visits '07 page.
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