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Research Archive

Welcome to our Chinese medicine and acupuncture research news pages. We add to the content of these pages continuously as more research news comes in. Browse through the complete archive below or use the category links on the right.

Please note that the most twenty recent research archive items are free to view but access to the thousands of items in the archive require a journal subscription.

TAI CHI IMPROVES DIABETIC HEALTH

Categories: Tai chi

Practising tai chi may help boost immune function and improve blood sugar control in people with type-2 diabetes. Thirty-two people participated in three hour-long tai chi sessions each week, for a period of 12 weeks. Investigators found statistically significant reductions in levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (A1C) in the blood of participants, indicating improved long-term blood glucose control ...

TAI CHI AND HYDROTHERAPY FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS

Categories: Tai chi

A randomised controlled trial has investigated whether tai chi or hydrotherapy classes provide measurable clinical benefits to those suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee. The Australian study enrolled 152 adults, aged 60 and older, who had chronic symptomatic hip or knee OA. Participants were randomly allocated to 12 weeks of hydrotherapy, tai chi classes, or a waiting list contro ...

Tai chi enhances flu shot

Categories: Tai chi

Researchers in the USA have found that a combination of tai chi and qigong (TQ) can enhance older adults' immune responses to the flu vaccine. A group of 50 adults in their 70s, were randomised TQ or no exercise. The TQ group attended three one-hour classes per week, consisting of tai chi and qigong movements along with standing and seated meditation. All participants received a flu vaccination at ...

TAI CHI AS GOOD AS BRISK WALKING

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi is as effective as a brisk walk in raising heart rate variability (HRV). A Korean crossover study recruited 24 volunteers between 24 and 35 years. Subjects either walked on a treadmill at six kilometres an hour (just under three miles per hour) or performed tai chi for 20 minutes daily, for a week. Mean heart rate was found to be similar for both forms of exercise and the HRV was also comp ...

TAI CHI FOR BALANCE

Categories: Tai chi

Two more studies have confirmed the value of tai chi for improving balance in the elderly. The first looked at the effects of an 18-week tai chi training in 25 men (intervention group), compared to 24 controls (aged 60 to 82.1 years) all of whom had osteoporosis or osteopaenia. There was a significant improvement in 'balance task performance' in the intervention group, with no significant improvem ...

HOW DOES TAI CHI IMPROVE BALANCE?

Categories: Tai chi

The mechanisms by which tai chi can improve balance were investigated in a randomised controlled trial of 49 healthy older adults. The investigators found that that a widening of stance and improved use of vestibular input (sensory information from the inner ear which informs us how the body is moving in relationship to space and gravity) are two mechanisms by which tai chi may improve balance. (E ...

TAI CHI IMPROVES BALANCE AND PREVENTS FALLS.

Categories: Tai chi

A large Australian study of 702 healthy people (mean age 69) has concluded that a 16-week programme of tai chi classes improved their balance and reduced the incidence of falls. (A randomized, controlled trial of tai chi for the prevention of falls: the Central Sydney tai chi trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007 Aug;55(8):1185-91).

TAI CHI FOR HEART FAILURE

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi can enhance sleep stability in patients with chronic heart failure. Researchers analysed 24-hour continuous ECG data obtained in a clinical trial of tai chi in 18 patients with heart failure. At 12 weeks, those who participated in tai chi showed a significant increase in EEG parameters that indicated improved sleep stability. These improvements were correlated with better disease-specific ...

Tai chi for stress reduction

Categories: Tai chi

A prospective longitudinal pilot study of tai chi for young adults, carried out over 18 weeks, found that their subjective health increased. Stress, measured both subjectively (by questionnaire) and objectively (by measurement of salivary cortisol levels) was also found to decrease during tai chi practice. (Mind/body techniques for physiological and psychological stress reduction: Stress managemen ...

TAI CHI FOR DIABETES

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi can improve blood markers of type 2 diabetes. A British case-control study examined the effect of a 12-week programme of tai chi on the T helper cell activity of 30 patients with type 2 diabetes and 30 healthy people of the same age. After 12-weeks, glycated haemoglobin (produced when excess blood sugar combines with the oxygen transported in red blood cells) levels fell significantly in t ...

TAI CHI FOR CHILDREN'S ASTHMA

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi can improve the pulmonary function of asthmatic children. Thirty asthmatic children were randomised either to a 12-week tai chi programme (TC) or no treatment. Baseline pulmonary function was assessed at rest, after exercise, and after exercise plus drinking iced water (which can induce an asthma attack). After the 12-week program, TC children had a significant improvement in pulmonary fun ...

Tai chi improves sense of touch

Categories: Tai chi

It appears that although tai chi (TC) does not directly engage in tactile stimulus training, it is capable of eliciting enhanced tactile acuity in long-term practitioners. Experienced adult TC practitioners were recruited and compared with age-gender matched controls. A blinded assessor used a validated method to compare TC practitioners' and controls' ability to discriminate between two different ...

TAI CHI REDUCES FALLS

Categories: Tai chi

A systematic review of seven randomised controlled trials has concluded that has shown that tai chi has the potential to reduce falls or risk of falls among the elderly, provided that they are relatively young and non-frail. (A systematic review of the effectiveness of Tai Chi on fall reduction among the elderly. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2008 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]).

Tai chi reduces blood pressure

Categories: Tai chi, Hypertension

A systematic review of the literature on the effect of tai chi exercise on blood pressure (BP) suggests that it may reduce BP and serve as a practical, non-pharmacological adjunct to conventional hypertension management. Of the 26 studies that met the inclusion criteria, 22 (85%) reported reductions in BP with tai chi (3-32 mm Hg systolic and 2-18 mm Hg diastolic BP reductions). (The effect of tai ...

TAI CHI HELPS SENIORS SLEEP

Categories: Insomnia/sleep disorders, Tai chi

Practising tai chi chih (TCC), a Westernized version of tai chi, has been shown to promote sleep quality in older adults with moderate sleep complaints. In the US study, 112 healthy adults, age range 59 to 86, were randomly assigned to one of two groups for a 25-week period: one group practised 20 simple TCC moves, the other participated in health education classes that included advice on stress m ...

Tai chi for ankylosing spondylitis

Categories: Back, Tai chi

Korean investigators have examined the effect of tai chi on disease activity, flexibility and depression in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). They allocated 40 patients to either a tai chi group or a no-treatment control group. The tai chi group attended two 60 minute group tai chi classes per week, and practised daily at home, for eight weeks. After eight weeks, the tai chi group showed ...

TAI CHI FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi appears to be safe and may be beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty patients with RA were randomly assigned to tai chi or attention control in twice-weekly sessions for 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, 50% of patients randomized to tai chi achieved a 20% response measured on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response criterion, compared with 0% in the control. Those practicing ...

TAI CHI FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES

Categories: Tai chi

A Chinese study has investigated the effects of 14 weeks of tai chi practice on metabolic control and lipid metabolism in women with type 2 diabetes. Twenty women, mean age 57, were randomly assigned to either tai chi or a control group. In the tai chi group, exercise duration was one hour per day, five days a week, for 14 weeks. It was found that after 14 weeks, the tai chi group had significantl ...

TAI CHI FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME

Categories: Tai chi

An Australian pilot study (11 people) suggests that a twelve week tai chi and qigong training programme results in significant improvements in four of the seven indicators of metabolic syndrome, including BMI and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as in glycosylated haemoglobin levels, insulin resistance, stress, depressive symptoms, general health, mental health and vitality. (A preli ...

TAI CHI AND QIGONG STUDIES FOR SENIORS REVIEWED

Categories: Qigong, Tai chi

American authors have reviewed intervention studies using tai chi and qigong (TC & QG) in order to identify the physical and psychological health outcomes shown to be associated with TC & QG in adults over 55. Based on specific inclusion criteria, studies with a total of 3,799 participants were included in the review. The authors identified five categories of study outcomes, including fall ...