A Study on Tai Chi
The safety and health benefits of Tai Chi mind-body exercise
has been documented in a large number of clinical studies focused on specific
diseases and health conditions. The objective of this systematic review is to
more comprehensively summarize the evidence base of clinical studies of Tai Chi
for healthcare. We searched for all types of clinical studies on Tai chi in
PubMed, the Cochrane Library and four major Chinese electronic databases from
their inception to July 2013. Data were analyzed using SPSS17.0 software. A
total of 507 studies published between 1958 and 2013 were identified, including
43 (8.3%) systematic reviews of clinical studies, 255 (50.3%) randomized
clinical trials, 90 (17.8%) non-randomized controlled clinical studies, 115
(22.7%) case series and 4 (0.8%) case reports. The top 10 diseases/conditions
was hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis or osteopenia, breast
cancer, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart
disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Many healthy participants practiced Tai
Chi for the purpose of health promotion or preservation. Yang style Tai Chi was
the most popular, and Tai Chi was frequently practiced two to three 1-hour
sessions per week for 12 weeks. Tai Chi was used alone in more than half of the
studies (58.6%), while in other studies Tai Chi was applied in combination with
other therapies including medications, health education and other physical
therapies. The majority of studies (94.1%) reported positive effects of Tai
Chi, 5.1% studies reported uncertain effects and 0.8% studies reported negative
effects. No serious adverse events related to Tai Chi were reported. The
quantity and evidence base of clinical studies on Tai Chi is substantial.
However, there is a wide variation in Tai Chi intervention studied and the
reporting of Tai Chi intervention needs to be improved. Further well-designed
and reported studies are recommended to confirm the effects of Tai Chi for the
frequently reported diseases/conditions.
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