Effects of therapeutic Tai Chi on balance, gait, and quality of life in chronic stroke patients

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of therapeutic Tai Chi on balance, gait, and quality of life in chronic stroke patients. Twenty-two inpatients diagnosed with stroke were divided randomly into two groups: one treated with both general physical therapy and Tai Chi exercise (11 patients) and one treated with only general physical therapy (11 patients). Therapeutic Tai Chi included 10 different movements and was performed for 60 min, twice per week, for 6 weeks. Pretest and post-test measurements were recorded for sway length and sway velocity using Gaitview, the functional reach test, the dynamic gait index, the 10-m walking test, the timed up-and-go test, and SF-36 survey. Both the Tai Chi group and the control group showed a significant improvement in sway length and sway velocity, and the Tai Chi group showed greater improvement than the control group in degree of variation. In addition, only the Tai Chi group showed a significant result for functional reach test, the dynamic gait index, the 10-m walking test, the timed up-and-go test, and the Tai Chi group improved. In the quality of life, the therapeutic Tai Chi group showed a significant improvement in five items (physical function, pain, vitality, general health, mental health) among eight items in SF-36. This study confirmed that therapeutic Tai Chi influences the balance, gait, and life quality of stroke patients. Therefore, therapeutic Tai Chi can be used as an effective exercise in combination with general physical therapy to improve the balance, gait, and quality of life in stroke patients.

Adapted Tai Chi Enhances Upper Limb Motor Control in Chronic Stroke Patients: A Pilot Study

“…On the other hand, once their abilities permitted it, participants were encouraged to practice upper limb movements both together and to coordinate these with lower limb movements in standing positions. The participants who used standing positions improved their balance following the intervention subjectively, which is consistent with other studies that have reported Tai Chi benefits for balance training post stroke [14][15][16]. Therefore, this study provided also an intervention using whole body rehabilitation for stroke survivors with sufficient balance.…”

“…Through consistent weight shifting between two feet [10], Tai Chi has been broadly reported as beneficial for improving balance and for fall prevention in the elderly [11][12][13]. Recently, there is some evidence supporting its benefits in improving balance in chronic stroke patients [14][15][16]. However, its use for upper limb rehabilitation remains unknown.…”

Effects of tai chi on physiology, balance and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Some studies have suggested that tai chi has favourable effects on a variety of factors, including cardiovascular protection (10), fall prevention (11), balance (12), flexibility (13), depression (14) and quality of life (QoL) (15). Tai chi has potential benefits in treating different diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16), Parkinson's disease (17), osteoarthritis (18) and stroke (19). Thus, tai chi may be a suitable exercise for individuals with chronic diseases (9,20).…”

Effects of Tai Chi on balance and gait in stroke survivors: A systematic meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…, and 2 studies did not document the practice style (14,15). All of the studies aimed to examine the effectiveness of tai chi on standing balance and gait ability of stroke survivors.…”

“…Although the studies by Kim et al (15) and Au-Yeung et al (13) reported data on static standing balance, they used different outcome indicators and reported the results according to various test conditions; thus it was difficult and not robust to pool all of the data Similarly, the study by Au-Yeung et al (13) was not included in the pooled analysis for dynamic standing balance. However, there was no significant difference in dynamic standing balance between the tai chi and control groups (0.154 [-0.269 ~ 0.578], p = 0.475; I 2 = 26.6%, p = 0.256).…”