The Science

the statistics about falls: 

* One-fourth of Americans aged 65+ fall each year.

* Falls account for 25% of all hospital admissions

* 40% of all nursing home admissions

* 40% of those admitted do not return to independent living; 

 a review of benefits including quality of live, self-efficacy, psychological, falls and balance,  bone density...many others

“High” and “moderate” quality evidence extracted from these meta-analyses demonstrated that practicing Tai Chi can significantly improve balance, cardiorespiratory fitness, cognition, mobility, proprioception, sleep, and strength; reduce the incidence of falls and nonfatal stroke; and decrease stroke risk factors.

Conclusions. Health care providers can now recommend Tai Chi with high level of certainty for health promotion of older adults across a range of general health outcomes for improvement of overall well-being.” click here for the original study

reducing the risk of falling

Tai Chi is an effective exercise for preventing falls and improving balance ability in older adults, whether they are healthy or at high risk of falling. click here for the original study

reduces stress in healthy people

One study of “healthy but stressed people” showed that practicing tai chi for 12 weeks significantly lowered their anxiety levels — maybe even better than other forms of exercise.

Why? Because, to successfully practice tai chi, you have to think about coordinating your breathing with movements, which takes your mind away from whatever else may be stressing you. click here for the original study

general health benifits

In China, it is believed that tai chi can delay aging and prolong life, increase flexibility, and strengthen muscles and tendons.

Because tai chi movements are slow and deliberate with shifts of body weight from one leg to the other in coordination with upper body movements (sometimes with one leg in the air), it challenges balance and many have long assumed it helps improve balance and reduce fall frequency. This assumption has been credited and strongly supported by some research.

-One study compared men age 65 and older who had more than 10 years of experience practicing tai chi and no involvement in any other regular sports and physical activity, with similar-aged men who had not practiced tai chi or any other physical activities (they were sedentary). It was found that the men who studied tai chi performed better on tests of balance, flexibility, and cardiovascular function.

-re strength and endurance: One study looked at adults in their 60s and 70s who practiced tai chi three times a week for 12 weeks (60-minute classes). These adults were given a battery of physical-fitness tests to measure balance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility before and after the 12 weeks. After just 6 weeks, statistically significant improvements were observed in balance, muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility measures. And then, Improvements in each of these areas increased further after 12 weeks.

click here for the original study

cognition:

an article from the Harvard Medical School notes that “Up until about two decades ago, it was believed that your brain only produced new cells early in life. But research has shown that the brain has the ability to change throughout your entire life span, growing new cells, making new connections, and even increasing in size.

These changes can improve cognitive function—and various forms of exercise, including tai chi, can help…In a meta-analysis of 20 studies on tai chi and cognition, tai chi appears to improve executive function—the ability to multitask, manage time, and make decisions—in people without any cognitive decline.

In those with mild cognitive impairment, tai chi slowed the progression to dementia more than other types of exercise and improved their cognitive function in a comparable fashion to other types of exercise or cognitive training” click here for the original article

well being

in a study of tai chi for older nurses the study found that, in a randomized control trial, “The Tai Chi group took no unscheduled time-off hours, whereas, the control group was absent 49 hours during the study period. There was also a 3% increase in work productivity and significant improvement in functional reach (p=0.03) compared to the control group. Other outcomes were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of Tai Chi with older female workers as a cost effective wellness option in the workplace; thus encouraging replication with a larger sample. Methodological implications were also addressed. click here for the original study

Improves quality of life

*Tai Chi appears to be safe and has positive effects on health related quality of life in patients with chronic conditions, especially for patients with disorders in Cardio-cerebrovascular and respiratory systems, and musculoskeletal system. click here for the original study

*Tai Chi has been demonstrated to improve cardiovascular function following heart attack, reduce high blood pressure, increase blood flow to the periphery. There have been measures of cortisol as an index of stress, to show that cortisol levels are reduced after tai chi training. click here for the original study

*Tai chi is often described as "meditation in motion," but it might well be called "medication in motion." There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren't in top shape or the best of health. No pain, big gains

Although tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn't leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. Here's some of the evidence:

Muscle strength. Tai chi can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. When practiced regularly, tai chi can be comparable to resistance training and brisk walking.

Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body. Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.

Flexibility. Tai chi can boost upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.

Balance. Tai chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one's body in space — declines with age. Tai chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.

Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits. link to the original article