A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Tai Chi Exercise in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease from 2003 to 2013^*

Abstract

Objective/Background: This study aims to review the current evidence on the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercise in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) in the past 10 years. Methods: A systematic review of studies published in English from 2003 to 2013, retrieved from three electronic databasesdMEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and ScienceDirectdwas performed. The review selected only those studies that investigated the effects of Tai Chi exercise on individuals with PD and had a full-length publication. Methodological qualities of the randomized control trials were appraised based on the modified Jadad scale. Results: Of the 702 articles, eight publications, including four randomized controlled trials, two single-arm intervention studies, and two case reports, were reviewed. Results of this review show that there is an inconsistency of strong empirical evidence to support the efficacy of Tai Chi exercise in the PD population. Furthermore, this review reveals that there is a lack of scientific rigor in the experimental designs of the trials conducted to examine the effects of Tai Chi intervention on the PD population. Conclusion: Because of the small sample and inconclusive results, this review cannot provide a firm conclusion to support or refute the effectiveness of Tai Chi in improving motor or nonmotor performance in patients with PD. Further research is required to investigate whether there are specific benefits of Tai Chi for people with PD in these areas and future review should include non-English studies, which examine the use of Tai Chi with this type of population.

A Meta-Analysis on the Efficacy of Tai Chi in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease between 2008 and 2014

“…Our main findings are different from the previous reviews [ 22 , 23 ]. Lee and colleagues conclude that the evidence is insufficient to suggest Tai Chi is an effective modality for PD [ 23 ].…”

Tai Chi for Improvement of Motor Function, Balance and Gait in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…It would be probably that the objective evidence made our review different from the previous ones [5], [20], [21]. Lee and colleagues concluded that the evidence was insufficient to suggest that Tai Chi was an effective intervention for PD based on three RCTs [22]–[24], one non-RCT [25] and 3 uncontrolled clinical trials [26]–[28] published from 1997 to 2007 [5].…”

The impact of Tai Chi and Qigong mind-body exercises on motor and non-motor function and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…First, a number of prior reviews have been limited to qualitative synthesis and have not also included quantitative meta-analytical methods [63, 64]. For studies that did include meta-analysis, one in 2014 focused only on Tai Chi (excluding Qigong) and included 9 trials in quantitative synthesis (vs. 15 in the present study) [7].…”