tai chi, tai chi fibromyalgia, tai chi immune system

Dr. Anthony Alessi: Tai chi effective in treatment of fibromyalgia

 Dr. Anthony Alessi is a neurologist at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.    DR. ANTHONY ALESSI For the Norwich Bulletin Posted Sep 07, 2010 @ 08:27 PM

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the effectiveness of tai chi in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Tai chi is a form of self-defense developed in China more than 2,000 years ago. It consists of flowing, circular movements that emphasize balance and meditation.

Fibromyalgia is a common, painful clinical syndrome. Typical symptoms include muscle pain, stiffness, fatigue, sleep disturbances and mood changes. It affects about 200 million people throughout the world. Symptoms vary with levels of stress, climactic conditions and other triggering events.

Tai chi has been described as an effective way of relieving painful musculoskeletal conditions, including low back pain. It has also provided a complementary treatment for cardiovascular conditions. This is the first time it has been studied in conjunction with fibromyalgia.

The study reported on 66 patients randomly assigned to a group participating in either tai chi classes or a wellness education and stretching session. At least 79 percent of the tai chi participants reported improvement of symptoms, while only 39 percent of the wellness group felt they had improved….

Medications used to treat fibromyalgia include antidepressants, anticonvulsants and anti-inflammatory agents. The response to long-term medical treatment alone has been disappointing. Despite the need for further research, the potential benefits of a combined treatment approach that includes tai chi are encouraging. Dr. Anthony Alessi is medical director of The William W. Backus Hospital Stroke Center and in private practice at NeuroDiagnostics, LLC, in Norwich. E-mail him at aalessi@wwbh.org Copyright 2010 Norwich Bulletin. Some rights reserved

tai chi osteoporosis

Tai Chi Chuan may help retard bone loss postmenopausal women.

Abstract

Qin L, Au S, Choy W, Leung P, Neff M, Lee K, Lau M, Woo J, Chan K.

Regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise may retard bone loss in postmenopausal women: a case-control study.

Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002;83:1355-9.

Objective: To evaluate the potential benefits of regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise on the weight-bearing bones of postmenopausal women.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: University medical school in Hong Kong.

Participants: Postmenopausal women (age range, 50–59y), including 17 self-selected regular Tai Chi Chuan exercisers (TCE) with over 4 years of regular exercise, and 17 age- and gender-matched nonexercising controls (CON).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures:

Bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured at baseline and at follow-up 12 months later by using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and in the distal tibia using multislice peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT).

Results: Baseline results showed that the TCE group had significantly higher BMD (10.1%–14.8%, all P<.05) than the CON group in the lumbar spine, proximal femur, and the ultradistal tibia. The follow-up measurements showed generalized bone loss in both groups. Although both DXA and pQCT measurements revealed decelerated rates of bone loss in the TCE group, only the more sensitive pQCT showed significantly reduced rate of bone loss in trabecular BMD of the ultradistal tibia (TCE vs CON: −1.10%±1.26% vs −2.18%±1.60%, P<.05) and of cortical BMD of the distal tibial diaphysis (TCE vs CON: −0.90%±1.36% vs −1.86%±0.93%, P<.05).

Conclusion: This is the first case-control study to show that regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise may help retard bone loss in the weight-bearing bones of postmenopausal women.

via Elsevier: Article Locator.